Pandora Recovery Centre
by I-write-hurt-not-comfort
Summary: Modern day AU. Pandora Recovery Centre is a place designated to helping people recover from their problems. Three drug addicts seeking rehab, an alcoholic, and eight people with mental disorders all seek help. What will happen when 12 new patients come to stay, all with messed up pasts and many mental problems? TW: drugs, violence, possible yaoi etc. R&R!
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

**_(A/N: And here I am with a new fanfic! Because im finished my crossover, I decided to start this one! This is my favourite anime, so I just had to. I got a lot of help from my friend, so thank you to her! This fanfic deals with lots of mental health disorders and addictions, so beware! Also, when I make fun of the characters, please don't take it like i'm offending people with mental health disorders. These chapters will be a range of lengths, ranging from 1k words to 3k words. Some of them will be serious, some will be comedy. This is also completely AU, if I really need to say that. Finally, this first chapter is just the introduction._**

 ** _Trigger warnings: Violence, swearing, drug use, alcohol, addiction, mental health disorders, suicide and aggression._**

 ** _Please follow and review; I love to hear what you think!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters.)_**

 **~Chapter One: Introduction~**

 _Pandora Recovery Centre is a remote residential place in the countryside dedicated to improving people's lives for the better. This centre provides help for a wide range of problems, ranging from addiction to mental health disorders, and dedicates itself specifically for helping young people of only ages 16-30. The remote setting crossed with the small capacity makes it an ideal place to make a full recovery._

 _..._

"So," said Lacie, pouring herself a glass of water and sitting down next to her colleague, Sharon, "Who are the new patients coming today?"

"Well, ever since the last one of our previous patients was discharged, we have all 12 slots available," Sharon explained, browsing through the huge pile of papers and forms on her and Lacie's desk, "And all 12 slots have been filled."

"Wow, that must be a first for this recovery centre." Lacie told her, astonished, "Let's have a little look at them, shall we?"

Sharon nodded as Lacie moved round to view the computer as they opened up the files of the new patients.

...

Name: Alice

Age: 17

Diagnosed mental disorders: Split Personality Disorder

Substance abuse: None

Background info: Grew up with her twin Alyss with no parents. She quickly developed SPD and was diagnosed by a doctor a year ago. Since then her school suspended her for occasionally bullying other students and sent her away to a recovery centre. Some people may confuse her as bipolar, but the real issue has been identified as SPD because her personality drastically changes daily. The three main 'Alice's' often seen are the bossy and dominant side, the careless and lazy side who only cares about food, and the overly sensitive side. The cause of her disorder is still unidentified.

Behaviour warnings: Narcissistic sometimes

...

Name: Alyss

Age: 17

Diagnosed mental disorders: Bipolar Disorder

Substance abuse: None

Background info: Like her twin sister, Alice, Alyss grew up without her parents. Originally, Alyss only developed her manic depression after Alice has been diagnosed with SPD. Because of her sister's opinion on her fluctuating frequently, Alyss became used to being treated differently. She then found herself being diagnosed with bipolar, going manic at some points and depressed at other. The real cause behind her disorder is still unclear, though therapists often theorise that is was to do with her sister's behaviour. She admitted herself and Alice to Pandora Recovery Centre voluntarily.

Behaviour warnings: Tends to become angry easily, goes from happy to angry quickly and is dangerous to be around when angry

...

Name: Break

Age: 25

Diagnosed mental disorders: Insomnia

Substance abuse: Heroin dependency

Background info: Went through a great deal of trauma when growing up, most of which is unidentified due to his parents having died a long time ago. One of these events led to the loss of his left eye. He was admitted to hospital after being found unconscious in his apartment by a neighbour after an over dose. The hospital deduced that he was addicted to heroin because of the large quantities found in his apartment. Due to him still being asleep, Break has not gone through withdrawal yet, and will have to do that at the centre. The longevity of his drug abuse is not yet confirmed.

Behaviour warnings: Very judgemental, sees things that aren't there (hallucinations)

...

Name: Elliot

Age: 16

Diagnosed mental disorders: Separation Anxiety

Substance abuse: None

Background info: Elliot grew up in a wealthy family and was often categorised as being strong willed and sometimes argumentative. However, in recent years, his parents noticed an increase in his anxiety levels when he was separated from those close to him. He began to experience panic attack when he was alone, and eventually got diagnosed with Separation Anxiety. His parents admitted him to the centre; despite him claiming that he 'didn't need help'.

Behaviour warnings: Slightly narcissistic

...

Name: Gilbert

Age: 24

Diagnosed mental disorders: Severe Depression

Substance abuse: Nicotine dependency

Background info: When he was 14, Gilbert was found by Oscar, an uncle who had legal custody over two children named Oz and Ada. Gilbert was taken in and grew close to Oz, watching him grow up. However, when Gil was 19, the memories from his past life came back to him, causing him to leave. He left to keep Oz safe, and therefore became very depressed and suicidal as a result of it. He also began smoking, and has tried to quit 8 times and failed. His long-lost younger brother Vincent (who took him in when he left at 19) admitted him to this recovery centre.

Behaviour warnings: Becomes violent when he can't smoke, starts crying a lot, afraid of cats

...

Name: Jack

Age: 26

Diagnosed mental disorders: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Substance abuse: None

Background info: Jack was abandoned by his family at a very young age, and was found shortly after on the streets by another girl. She took him in and gave him a home. Her connections with other people were never made clear to him. One day, she became impregnated by someone else, and was killed shortly after. Jack then took the blame, and the killer was never identified. He also experienced the death of his mother at a young age. This entire trauma led to his PTSD, causing flashbacks and nightmares daily. He admitted himself at the age of 25 in order to stop the nightmares

Behaviour warnings: Starts to cry uncontrollably when girlfriend brought up, hallucinations, panic attacks

...

Name: Leo

Age: 16

Diagnosed mental disorders: Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa

Substance abuse: None

Background info: Leo was raised in an orphanage, forever unaware of where his parents are. He was bullied by other children from the age of 13 because of his lack of social skills and his intelligence most likely. At the age of 14, Leo began starving himself and shortly after, purging. He has been doing this for 2 years before the orphanage found him purging one night and admitted him to the centre. Because the he claimed that he was never actually called 'fat', the reasons for his eating disorders are still unknown.

Behaviour warnings: If forced to eat he tries to kill you, will choke you if you take his book

...

Name: Levi

Age: 29

Diagnosed mental disorders: None

Substance abuse: Crack (cocaine) dependency

Background info: He and his friend were part of a secret organisation from the age of 18. The activities involved have not been identified, although some would have described it as 'gang activity'. Around the age of 25, Levi starting smoking crack. As he began to use frequently, he developed this addiction in secret, until his friend realised his problem with crack. The organisation then sent him to this centre. Because he is only being admitted today, he has yet to go through withdrawal.

Behaviour warnings: Never takes anything seriously

...

Name: Oswald

Age: 28

Diagnosed mental disorders: None

Substance abuse: Alcohol dependency

Background: The friend of Levi. Joined the organisation when he was 17. With the same activities of Levi, Oswald quickly began to involve in the lifestyle. Although experimenting with drugs with Levi, he ended up becoming dependent on alcohol instead, ever since he was 24. He also has a sister, but has refused to disclose where she is currently. He was the one to find Levi using, and at that point admitted his own problem. Notifying the organisation, him and Levi were forced into rehab here. Once again, he has not yet been through withdrawal.

Behaviour warnings: None

...

Name: Oz

Age: 18

Diagnosed mental disorders: Schizophrenia

Substance abuse: None

Background info: Oz grew up with his uncle Oscar, with his younger sister Ada after his father rejected him. During his childhood, up until he was 8 when Gilbert came along, he was constantly abused by his father. This lead to him growing up in his teens with bad schizophrenia, leading to fits of hysteria. When Gilbert left, he lost all support and acted upon the voices of his father in his head. He was supposed to go to university when he was 18, but instead his uncle sent him to Pandora Recovery Centre.

Behaviour warnings: Fits of hysteria, hears voices

...

Name: Rufus

Age: 21

Diagnosed mental disorders: Narcissistic personality disorder

Substance abuse: Cocaine dependency

Background info: Grew up with a rich family and got everything he wanted. Started to party a lot and got rejected by several girls who he proposed to. Eventually moved away from family and became addicted to cocaine when he was 19. His family continued to pay for his rich life style and he still barely had a proper life. A few nights ago, Rufus passed out whilst drunk and was brought to the hospital by his family. Because of this, he still has not gone through withdrawal.

Behaviour warnings: Cries when rejected, gets angry when rejected

...

Name: Vincent

Age: 22

Diagnosed mental disorders: Paranoia

Substance abuse: None

Background info: Got separated from his parents and older brother when he was 12. This lead to him being abandoned. Child orphanages and families pushed him away because of the fact that his eyes were two different colours; gold and wine red. Eventually, when he was 17, Vincent had managed to track down his brother, Gilbert. Unfortunately, when he pulled Gilbert away from his current family, he watched his older brother fall depressed. When Gilbert was 24, he signed him into a recovery centre. However, when he got there, the psychiatrists did a behaviour analysis and diagnosed him with paranoia. He only proved the point further by saying he wanted to stay with Gilbert so that he didn't leave him.

Behaviour warnings: Keep away from sharp objects, will defend his brother no matter what, and look out for incest.


	2. Chapter 2: New Patients

_**(A/N: This chapter is quite short, but its still sort of an introduction I guess. Each chapter will follow a couple of people, almost like a collection of one-shots I guess, but they all link at the same time. Anyway, if you have any ideas or requests for chapter idea between certain characters, please let me know! Also, thank you very much to the two people who reviewed. i'm glad you're enjoying it.**_

 _ **Remember to follow and review, I won't update unless I know people are interested!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Two: New Patients~**

"Wow," Sharon pulled away from the computer, looking at Lacie, "Looks like we've got work to do!"

"You're telling me!" Lacie replied, checking the time, "Oh god! We better start now! The new patients arrive in one hour!"

 _One hour later…_

"Sharon!" Lacie called, "Everyone is here now!"

"I'm coming!" Sharon soon came running from her office, "I've got the room arrangements."

The two therapists walked into the room, seeing all 12 patients standing around. Immediately, they both felt the lingering tension in the room. Clearly some of them knew each other.

"Ahem," Lacie said to the room, trying to get their attention, "Okay, first of all. Welcome to the Pandora Recovery Centre. We wish you all good luck on the road to recovery. Today will be a free day, and you will be allowed to do what you like, provided you have supervision."

Sharon continued for her, "Yes. Tomorrow we will give you a tour of the facilities, and familiarise you with the schedule before you start partaking in group activities and therapy. But, right now, I am going to take you all to your rooms."

Lacie removed the first piece of paper from Sharon and read it out, "Room 1 will be Alice and Alyss, since the two of you are siblings. Also, you are the only females."

"YEESSS!" Alice yelled, grabbing her twin by the wrist and racing in the direction of her room. Alice and Alyss looked pretty much identical, apart from the fact that Alice had brown hair and wore dark clothing, and Alyss had white hair and white clothing, "LETS GO!"

"Alice," Lacie warned, glaring at her, "Calm down. And let go of Alyss."

"You can't tell me what to do!" she yelled, storming off angrily in the direction of her and Lacie's room. The last thing they all heard from those two was a scream, followed by the door slamming.

"Well then…" Sharon continued hesitantly, "Room two also occupies only 2 people. Even though the two of you don't actually know each other, you're both 16, so it's most appropriate."

"Leo and Elliot," said Lacie, gesturing to the two boys, both standing on opposite sides of the room. Leo, the one with glasses and long, messy brown hair was engrossed in his book, whilst Elliot, the slightly taller one with blonde hair, was standing nervously, "Could you please follow me?"

"Whatever," Elliot sighed irritably, walking over to Lacie.

"Leo?" Lacie asked, walking up to him, "Could you put the book down for one minute whilst I show you and Elliot to your room."

"No," Leo answered bluntly.

"But we need-"

"I said no!" Leo raised his voice slightly, lowering his book and cupping his hand around Lacie's throat, who struggled around in his grip, "No means no! Don't ask me to put my book down again!"

"O-okay…" Lacie muttered, catching her breath after finally being released, "You can read and walk, if you like."

Leo just nodded, burying his face in the book before following Lacie as she led him and Elliot to Room 2.

"Anyway," Sharon continued, redirecting the other 8 patients' attention back to her, "The other 2 rooms, Rooms 3 and 4, will occupy 4 people each. In room 3, could we please have Jack, Oz, Gilbert and Vincent?"

"Look at that!" Vincent said happily, clinging to Gilbert's arm and pulling him over to Lacie, "We get to share a room!"

"Yeh…" Gilbert replied emotionlessly, his eyes focusing on the floor and nothing else, "B-but, it's Oz too…"

"And you want to see him again!" Vincent told him, noticed how the wide-eyed Oz came bouncing over.

"Hey! Gil!" Oz called, and then grinned at the taller man, "It's been a while!"

"5 years…" Gilbert whispered to himself, beginning to want a smoke, "It has."

"Wonderful!" cheered Vincent, but then his face changed to a darker expression, "Just don't leave me, ok? You know I'd do anything to protect you."

"Hi guys…" Jack walked over to the three of them, "I'm Jack. I think I'm your new roommate."

Gilbert, Oz and Vincent introduced themselves to Jack as Sharon led them to room 3. That left Levi, Oswald, Break and Rufus in the waiting room with Lacie.

"Now," she began, flicking through all of their files, "For the first week or so of your stay here, the four of you receive special treatment."

She looked at them briefly, trying to match each one with their profiles. The first one, Rufus, had long hair, and was smiling strangely at her. However, she knew it was just an act, as he was shaking nearly as much as the man next to him. Break, who was next to Rufus, was sitting on the floor, a faint smile painting his lips and he stared at the floor, trembling. He had been asleep after a heroin over dose, after all. He was bound to feel pretty rough.

The other two men were standing up, facing each other. One of them, Levi, had lilac, long hair which was braided to the side. The man next to him, Oswald, had dark hair, parted in the middle as the ends sat on his shoulders. Lacie blushed just looking at them, noting at how attraction the pair were. Nevertheless, they were addicts; they needed help.

"The four of you will be sharing Room 4. As you may already be aware, you are all here to recover from your addictions. None of you have yet gone through withdrawal, but that is fine. Even though it may be difficult, this centre is also designed as a rehab in order to help you recover from your addictions, and prevent you from relapsing." Lacie smiled softly at them, feeling slightly saddened. She always felt sympathy for addicts like this. "As things are now, the four of you will be staying together for the duration of your withdrawal. However, if symptoms get too severe, we will take you into the first aid centre on site. But, hopefully that won't be required."

From there, Lacie led them to Room 4. Rufus followed very close to her, raising his eyes at her and flirtatiously flipping his crimson red hair. Break was lagging behind them, already feeling the toll of withdrawal.

"I'm not looking forward to this…" Oswald whispered to his friend, Levi.

"Relax," said Levi calmly, "It'll be fine."

"But you're chemically dependent on crack! Surely withdrawal will be pretty bad for you, too!" Oswald reasoned.

"Who knows…" Levi wondered aloud, his emotions still level, "All I know is, that we're following a strange road to recovery…"


	3. Chapter 3: Withdrawal

**_(A/N: I have not abandoned this! I had to do loads of research for it, and loads of stuff and ughhhhh. Anyway, this chapter is primarily Levi and Oswald, with a little bit of Break on the side ;) so yeh. You may also have noticed a story developing, linking some of the characters. Do not fear; all will be revealed in due time! Next chapter will be Elliot and Leo! Finally, thank you to my two reviewers (even though one of you is my friend...), you motivated me._**

 ** _To any other readers, please review telling me what you think! Follow if you can too. Also, if you have any chapter requests/ideas, review or PM me because I'd love to hear them!_**

 ** _Trigger warnings: withdrawal, drugs_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Three: Withdrawal~**

"Thank you for your participation up to this point, I shall leave you to your own business. The bathroom among you is shared, and all the resources needed for your withdrawal will be provided when necessary." Lacie smiled, specifically at Levi and Oswald, "The library is down the hall on the right, opposite the relaxation room. You are welcome there at any point."

Levi, Oswald, Rufus and Break all watched as Lacie scurried away to her office. The 4 of them cautiously stepped into the room. Since Break was first in, he got first pick of the beds, and chose the one which sat beneath the window. And right next to the bathroom door.

Rufus, despite being last in, claimed the bed which rested up against the wardrobe. That left Levi and Oswald, who chose the two middle beds by process of elimination.

"I'm Levi," he introduced irrelevantly, and then gestured to his friend, "And this is Oswald."

"Hello," Oswald greeted.

"So who are you guys?" Levi asked casually, lying back in his bed.

"Rufus," The red headed one introduced, "Rufus Barma."

"Cool," Levi then turned to the window, "And you?"

"Xerxes Break," he replied nonchalantly, "But you can just call me Break."

The room then fell into an awkward silence. However, this was shortly after interrupted by Break, who all of a sudden got up and ran into the bathroom. Unfortunately, he was in such a hurry that the door ended up wide open.

"What was that for?" Levi asked, and then heard the disgusting sounds of Break retching.

Oswald moved his head slightly to peek into the bathroom, "I think your question has been answered now..."

"I see..." Levi replied, slowly standing up and traipsing over to the bathroom where Break was still being sick. Instead of helping him, he just stood there, watching him empty his insides. When he finally finished, Levi spoke again, "You okay?"

Break panted for a few seconds, "Not... really..."

"What happened to you then?"

"Heroin... overdose..." he told Levi, still struggling to catch his breath and contain his nausea, "I still... haven't recovered... yet. And then..." his breath caught in his throat, causing him to gag, "I-I still have to go through withdrawal."

"Oh..." Levi said plainly. All of this was just causing him to worry more about withdrawal; how he would cope. And how Oswald would cope.

But he was Levi. He would be fine.

 _Eight hours later..._

He certainly was not fine. Yet he still insisted he was.

"Levi..." Oswald whispered, sitting up, "How are you still sane? I thought crack withdrawal was supposed to be awful..."

Levi tried to sit up, but ultimately failed, and ended up collapsing back on to the bed, "It is. But I'd like to maintain my sanity for the time being."

"Great..." Oswald grimaced, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, "I don't feel too good... I think I'm gonna be sick again."

Levi pointed weakly towards the bathroom and shook his head, "Break's still in there."

"Ugh." Oswald covered his mouth, blindly groping around the floor beside Levi's bed, "What did you do with the bucket?"

"It's somewhere under my bed..." Levi kicked it towards him once he'd found it. Oswald managed to get halfway across the room with the bucket before doubling over and being sick. Thankfully, not of the floor.

"Ugh..." He groaned, collapsing sideways onto the floor and narrowly missing his own puke, "I need a drink."

"And I'd like some crack..." Levi peered his head briefly over the side of the bed, "You not gonna come back here?"

"When I have enough energy I will."

"And when will that be?"

"Maybe never..."

Levi nodded and eventually managed to sit up, "Well make it quick, imma need the bucket soon."

Oswald looked at him in disgust, "Can't we just ask for a new one? That one is disgusting now. It's got both our sick in it."

"Don't think I could wait," Levi swallowed thickly, and just as he stood up, Break finally exited the bathroom; looking awful.

That gave Levi enough privacy to be discreet about it.

Meanwhile, on the opposite bed, Rufus was lying there, shaking but not too badly. He was the only one who hadn't been throwing his guts up. He was currently crying, but Levi, Oswald and Break didn't appear to care. After all, they were much worse off.

 _Another eight hours later..._

By this point, the four of them were at the peak of their withdrawal. Rufus had gotten extremely depressed and was taken away by Sharon. And Break had collapsed due to his and had to be taken to the infirmary.

That left Levi and Oswald in their room, suffering as just the two of them.

"Ugh..." Levi muttered, lifting himself back onto the bed, "I need to wash my hair... This is just gross."

"Does your hair _seriously_ matter in a situation like this?"

"Yes. I don't like it when I've got puke in it." he reasoned, twirling a strand of it around in his fingers, "I kinda want a drink right now, not gonna lie."

"You think _you_ want a drink?" Oswald glared at him with sharp and threatening eyes, " _I_ need a drink."

"And I need my fix."

"No shit..." Oswald scoffed sarcastically, "Or otherwise we wouldn't be in a rehab. Why don't you ask someone for some cigarettes or something?"

Levi's eyes widened at the suggestion as he raised an eyebrow at Oswald, "Why? Smoking crack is completely different. And better."

"And the withdrawal is worse..." Oswald added for him, "... and it's more addictive."

"Well, yeh..."

"It's because of the Baskervilles, isn't it?"

"Yeh..." Levi admitted, "I never wouldn't done crack if it wasn't for that drug incident."

"And you got that girl pregnant..." Oswald smirked inwardly; despite his current state, irritating Levi when he was struggling to remain stable was always fun.

"Tch," Levi stared at him, "You're the one who killed her."

Oswald sat up, "Let's not talk about that now... I had to do it..."

"And I had to fuck her..." Levi tried to convince him, at which he received a questioning look from Oswald, "What? She was cute."

"... she was my sister..."

Levi smirked, "Even better."

 _6 o'clock the next morning…_

"Uhh…" Lacie groaned, rubbing her eyes as she approached Sharon, "They've been here since 10am yesterday."

"Yep…" Sharon stood up tiredly, "Rufus was a nightmare. He kept crying."

"About what?"

She sighed, "I still have no idea."

"I just returned Break to his room. He'd spent about 12 hours screaming in pain and throwing up. I mean, he still can't eat, but he's stable enough." Lacie told her, "When I went to see Levi and Oswald, they were still pretty rough, but I think the worst is over for them."

"That's good," Sharon smiled, "Rufus is still in the therapy room."

"Well then…" Lacie said, stretching, "We should get the schedule for the other patients ready."

"Definitely."

….

"Levi?" Oswald asked, staring up at the dark ceiling, "you awake?"

"Of course," Levi answered almost immediately, "16 hours and I think we're nearly done."

"Do we get to leave rehab after this?" Oswald said with a small hint of hope in his voice.

"No." Levi replied bluntly, "We're supposed to stay so that we don't relapse. Which I'm seriously considering."

"What, so you can just go through withdrawal all again?"

"If I get to smoke some crack, then yes."

Oswald sighed and turned his head to face Break, "Break?"

"Yes?" the other responded nonchalantly.

"Are you okay now?"

Break sighed, "Not really. I still can't eat, and I have no energy. But, it is what it is. I got addicted to heroin, so it's me who has to handle it."

"Well that was certainly motivational…" Levi muttered, turning over on his bed.

"It was pretty bad when you passed out, I'll admit that" Oswald told Break.

Break laughed slightly, "Really? That was the best bit for me. I was asleep. When I woke up I just started getting ill again."

"So it was heroin?" Levi asked curiously, rotating his head slightly to look at him.

"Yeh." Break answered; saddened by the truth, "Some stuff happened. I had to serve a family, but then they all got assassinated. I lost my eye trying to protect them, and then strain I out on my body is causing me to slowly turn blind. In fact, I'm incapable of distinguishing people's faces. I didn't _want_ to get addicted when I started using heroin. But I guess it just happened."

Oswald stared at the window, the light from the sunrise peeking in a filling the room with a dim, orange glow, "How old were you?"

"I was about 19 when I realised I was addicted. Since then, I've just been putting more and more strain on my body. If I hadn't stopped now, I would have died within another year. But I was found after taking an overdose, and they sent me here…" his speech faded slightly as he finished, and he gently laid his fragile and shaking body back onto the bed.

"Thanks for telling us," said Levi, standing up and sitting on the bed with Oswald, who just glared at him. "Must've been hard to talk about…"

"Meh," Break shrugged, "You would've found out sooner or later."

"Well, you're not the only one here. Everyone is struggling and getting help. That's just how it is here." Oswald reasoned.

"Yeh," Levi agreed, "And to think… It's only _truly_ just begun."


	4. Chapter 4: I'll get better for you

_**(A/Ns: YAOIIIII! Yes this has ElliotxLeo yaoi, so if you don't like don't read! I won't be posting for a week cause i'm on holiday, so enjoy this one! I will try and write when i'm away, but I haven't decided my next chapter yet.**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: eating disorders and YAOII!**_

 _ **Thank you to my consistent reviewers, but to any other readers, please review and tell me what you think!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Four: I'll get better for you~**

The previous day had been pointless, and Leo and Elliot had done nothing. In fact, they had barely spoken to each other. That was, at least, until now.

At 7:00am sharp, there was a harsh knocking on their dorm door.

"Ughh..." Elliot groaned, turning over in his bed, "What could they possibly want at this time?"

Leo had also just been woken up, "Possibly because this is when we start therapy."

"Tch," Elliot scoffed, "I do _not_ need therapy."

"Then why are you here?" Leo queried.

"... My parents sent me..."

"And they would've done that for a reason." stated Leo, "Although, that being said, I still don't know why I'm here."

"We'll find out eventually," Elliot frowned, "They'll put us on crappy medication and diagnose with about 100 different mental disorders."

The knocking on the door started again, and before either Elliot or Leo could get up and answer it, the door clicked open and Lacie stepped in.

"You should answer the door." she advised them quietly as she proceeded to opening the curtains.

Light poured into the room and Elliot flinched, covering his eyes with his arm, "What the hell?! It's too early!"

"Watch your attitude, Elliot," she warned him, "If your behaviour is bad, then we'll have to punish you. Now, breakfast is in 20 minutes. Make sure you are in the dining room."

"I'm not going to breakfast," Leo muttered stubbornly, pulling the duvet covers over his eyes.

Lacie sighed and walked up to him, whispering something in his ear. Unfortunately, Elliot couldn't hear what she was saying. About a minute later, Leo replied, "Fine. I'll go." He looked significantly sadder than he had previously, but nevertheless still ushered Lacie out of the room, "Leave now."

She simply nodded and stepped out of the room, waving as she turned to shut the door.

"What did she say to you?" Elliot asked curiously, sitting up in his bed.

Leo leaned over and put his glasses on, covering his eyes, "It doesn't matter."

"Well… okay…" Elliot shot him a strange look before standing up and opening the drawers. He was thinking about Leo, too. About how he was very aggressive, but also clearly had something hurting him. Elliot looked around at him briefly and smiled inwardly.

They'd make good friends. He was sure of it.

 _Oh wait,_ he thought, _That's why I'm here. Tch, it's bullshit. I do not get overly attached to people._

…..

"Leo, we need to go to breakfast now," Elliot announced, standing up.

"Let me finish my chapter." Leo said, almost more like a demand than request.

"You said to the nurse that you'd go. So we should go."

Leo stared up at him briefly, "You can go if you want to. I'm not stopping you."

"Yes, but…" Elliot trailed off, questioning why he didn't want to go alone, "I- I want to wait."

"Do you by any chance suffer from separation anxiety?"

"What?!" yelled Elliot, sitting on the bed next to Leo, "I do not! Well… some people… _accuse_ me of it, but…"

"But you don't think you have a problem?" Leo finished for him.

Elliot scoffed, "Tch. That's because I _don't._ "

"You can keep telling yourself that, but by doing that, all you're actually doing is running from the truth," Leo said, unemotionally, "If you do that, you only ever make people suffer."

"Well… my family worry a bit, but that doesn't matter!" Elliot retaliated.

"Are you sure that it's just them 'worrying'?"

"Well…" Elliot contemplated, "In all honesty, I don't think they ever liked me, and they often neglected me. But that just made me want to stick to them even more."

"Unbelievable. You are just like me. Your very existence made someone important suffer."

"Just like you?" Elliot wondered.

"I'm not speaking about this anymore." Leo murmered, placing his book down beside the bed.

Elliot walked out of the room with him, "Good. Me neither."

…..

Once they arrived in the dining room, they saw everybody else, except for Rufus, Break, Oswald and Levi. There was table available, and so Elliot and Leo proceeded to take that.

"I'll go get my food now," announced Leo, walking away to the buffet table. He looked at the food uncomfortably, before pouring some cereal and sitting back down by Elliot, "Are you going to get yours?"

"Oh, uh… yeh," Elliot was pulled out of his thoughts. He then copied Leo's exact actions, and returned to the table to sit down.

"You not gonna eat?" Elliot asked curiously as he noticed that Leo was staring at the bowl, the spoon resting between his limp fingers.

"Um, yeh, I will…" he muttered, shifting in the chair awkwardly, "I-I'm just not hungry."

"Oh. Okay…" Elliot began eating away, as Leo filled his spoon with about two flakes of cereal and choked it down, repressing a gag. He leaned back in his chair with his arms stubbornly folded over, the spoon still being held.

"Leo?" Lacie called from across the room, stepping over carefully to where he and Elliot sat.

"I'm fine!" Leo growled at her, tightening the grip on his spoon, almost as if he was trying to break it.

"You need to eat, Leo," she said to him, "That's why you're here."

"Shut up!" he yelled at her, throwing the spoon into the bowl, "I'm just not hungry!"

"If you don't, you'll be required to stay in your room all day."

"Fine!" he gave in; shoving her away, "Just leave now!"

Lacie frowned at him, "That's your last warning, Leo," and then she walked away.

Leo groaned as he forcefully shovelled the food down his throat. Elliot tried to ignore the pained yet aggressive emotions displayed on his face as he slowly ate his own breakfast. Once Leo was done, he shoved the empty bowl across the table and stormed off back to his room.

"Wait! Leo!" Elliot called after him, finishing his own food and chasing him down the hall. Leo's face portrayed the expression of a psychopath ready to perform a mass murder. But, instead of showing any external sign of aggression, Leo simply entered his room and headed straight for the bathroom, slamming the door shut as he locked it behind him.

"Leo!" Elliot shouted, running into the room and up to the bathroom door. All he could hear were the taps running, "Leo? What are you doing in there?"

Elliot attempted to twist the handle, but it had been locked. After a few more tries, he finally decided to use his earring to pick the lock. He hated being away from Leo. He barely knew the boy but… he hated being alone. He hurriedly shoved the earring pin into the lock and fiddled around. After only a few seconds, he opened the door and swung it open.

The first thing he sensed was the smell of bleach hanging in the air, surrounding the area above Leo who was currently crouched over the toilet, dry heaving. He was coughing harshly, the toilet barely filled with his own stomach acid. He'd also tied his hair up, and the glasses usually worn were sitting on the floor next to him, indicating to Elliot that this act had been intentional.

"Leo!" Elliot ran over, brushing the bangs away from Leo's face as he continued being sick.

"Fuck… off…" Leo panted, breathing heavily and collapsing back against the wall, "I… I don't n-need… your… h-help…"

Elliot sighed, filling a cup of water and handed it down to the boy on the floor, who was still trembling from his weakness. Leo took the water, staring at his reflection in the clear liquid before sipping from it.

"Why did you do that?" Elliot asked, sitting on the floor next to him.

"No reason…" Leo lied.

"What do you mean 'no reason'? You keep telling me to face up to the fact that I have a problem, when you're just the same! Yes, I may be running from the truth too, but you're just as bad! You won't eat, and I just caught you purging!"

"How do you know that was what I was doing?" Leo interrogated, "By the looks of things, you're just jumping to conclusions."

"Oh come on, don't play innocent anymore Leo! I can see the scratches on your knuckles from where you've shoved them down your throat! Face it! You have a problem."

Leo looked up at the ceiling, shielding his eyes from Elliot, "Maybe I do."

"So why did you do it?"

"Control." He replied simply.

"What?"

"Control."

"Yes, I heard you the first time," Elliot confirmed, "But I don't understand."

"I lived in an orphanage. My parents were killed when I was young. The kids there didn't like me, apparently because I was gay. I never got control over anything. The least I can do is control what I eat," Leo paused, "When I started doing it, it felt good, to be honest. But it just ended up hurting the few people who did care about me. But, I hate food now. Nothing's going to change that."

"Oh…" Elliot was stunned, especially since Leo had finally opened up to him.

Silence fell between the two teens for a couple of minutes, before Leo turned his head towards Elliot, giving him a faint smile. That was the first time Elliot had gotten to see Leo's eyes properly.

"Your eyes…" Elliot whispered, subconsciously tracing his finger along Leo's face, pulling the hair away, "… They're beautiful…"

"I hate them…" Leo told him honestly.

"Why?"

"Because they're different," admitted Leo, "I think that's why they called me gay. Well, that and probably because they were sort of correct in the end."

"You shouldn't keep them covered up… They're really something special."

Elliot continued gazing into Leo's eyes, the gold flecks reflecting light from the bathroom window, glinting into his own. He brushed his fingers around the other's eyes, finally resting his hand on Leo's cheek.

Leo smiled at him, shutting his eyes and holding Elliot's shoulder as he pulled the other closer to him. Immediately, Elliot took the hint, and planted his lips onto Leo's. His tongue brushed past Leo's lips, and he accepted the invitation, allowing Elliot to explore his mouth.

Leo moved his other hand up to Elliot's hair, holding it as Elliot placed a hand on his waist. They continued making out for a minute or so, holding each other's bodies close as their mouths connected.

A few minutes later, they finally parted, both panting for breath as they stared at each other with flushed faces. Leo wiped the excess saliva away from his mouth with his sleeve, smiling brightly back up at Elliot, who was bright red.

"I… uh-"

"It's ok," Leo cut him off, "I _did_ say I might be gay."

"Y-yeh…"

Leo laid his head onto Elliot's shoulder, and Elliot intertwined his finger's with the others, laying there silently and embracing the moment.

"I hope you get better…" said Elliot to Leo, glancing down at him. Only then did he truly observe how fragile the boy looked. He was so skinny, but that just attracted Elliot even more; he was precious. And his eyes…

Leo nodded.

"And if you don't eat…" Elliot smirked, "I guess I'll just have to feed you."

 _ **(A/N: ;D)**_


	5. Chapter 5: Hysteria

_**(A/N: So, this turned out to be strangely long. Whilst I was on holiday, I managed to complete 2 chapters for this fic. This chapter is Oz, Gilbert, Vincent and Jack, and ch6 will be Levi, Oswald etc. But, because I was writing them on my phone notes, I had no way of knowing how much I was writing. I'm not saying that its bad that this is long, just don't get your expectations up (even though ch 6 will also be long cause I wrote that too..) I've also got a surprise for my friend, and a first for me in the 6 months ive been writing, and that'll feature in chapter 9!**_

 _ **Thanks to my reviewers, but to anyone else, please tell me what you think!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: (do I have to keep saying it? *pouts* fine) I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters.**_

 **~Chapter Five: Hysteria~**

"AHHH! NO!"

Gilbert, Oz and Vincent were all suddenly woken up in the middle of the night by screaming, quickly registering that it was Jack showing the apparent distress.

"Ah." Oz sighed, gently rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting up, "What time is it?"

Gilbert, who hadn't bothered moving, looked at his watch, "Ugh. 4 in the morning."

"Nii-san," Vincent called, peeking his head over the top of his bunk, "Are you alright?"

"Yes..." Gilbert replied, almost inaudibly as he clutched his head.

"Then who screamed?"

"Jack," Oz told them, looking down towards the other blonde under his bed, "You okay, Jack?"

"Wha..." Jack panted, frantically looking around at his surroundings. He was shaking and sweating, unknown tears streaming down his face, "How... Wha?... Where-"

Oz jumped down from his bunk and sat on Jack's bed, cutting him off, "Calm down. You're at the recovery centre. I'm Oz, remember? You're sharing a room with me, Gil and Vincent."

"Wha..." Jack was still completely lost, and hadn't even realised that he was still crying, "Wh-What happened?"

"You woke up screaming," Oz said simply, "And you're still shaking... and crying."

"A-am I?" he asked, placing a hand on his face, feeling the wetness seeping from his eyes, "Oh..."

Oz tilted his head at him, "Would you care to tell me what it was about?"

"I-it was dark... there was b-blood... a-and... my girlfriend... sh-she was lying there... dead..." he stuttered, shaking too much to talk stably, "... I saw a silhouette jump out the window... I-I couldn't see who... he was... but I felt like I-I knew him..."

"Ah... So you never found out who did it?"

"N-no." Jack wiped away some of his tears, "How did y-you know I had... nightmares related to previous e-events?"

"Lacie told us," Vincent pointed out from the other side of the room, "She wanted us to be prepared in case, you know, you have any night terrors or other... incidents whilst you're asleep."

"Wha..." Jack blinked and then remembered, "Oh... right. They told you about that?"

"Yeh..." admitted Oz.

Jack looked down, smiling to Oz afterwards, "Well, hehe... we're good for tonight."

"Great," Oz grinned back, hopping up to his bed in one swift movement, "You good to sleep now? I sure am tired!"

"I think I can..." Jack answered, getting up from his bed, "I'm just gonna go to the bathroom first."

Vincent watched Jack shut the door behind him, and then noticed that Gilbert was walking out onto their balcony, "Where are you going, Nii-san?"

"I need a smoke." Gilbert murmured under his breath, sliding the glass door open and stepping outside.

"Wait! I'll come with you!" Vincent yelled desperately, scrambling out of his covers and down the ladder of the bunk bed.

"Why are you going with him?" Oz asked curiously, burying himself under covers.

Vincent opened the door as he looked back up, "Because I don't want Gil to be alone."

"... Right..." Oz replied, and then lowered his voice so that only he could hear himself, "Because that's _totally_ not why you're here."

Thankfully, Vincent hadn't heard Oz's comment. By the time he had reached Gil, his brother was already puffing smoke.

"Want one?" Gilbert offered, holding the pack out to him.

"No, Gil. You know I hate smoke." Vincent scolded, pushing the pack away.

"Ugh, Vince..." Gilbert sighed, taking a long drag, "Why are you here then?"

"Come on Gil, cheer up!" Vincent encouraged, looking up into the sky, "It's a nice moon tonight, isn't it, Nii-san?"

Gilbert stared at him nonchalantly, the smoke from his cigarette spiralling and dissipating in the dark sky, "Sure."

"There's a reason I admitted you here, you know. You need help."

"I don't _need_ to be happy, Vince."

"Yes. You do, Gil. Because I want you to be happy. It's all I want."

"And isn't that why you're here?" Gilbert pointed out rhetorically, breathing out smoke.

"They used the term 'paranoid' actually," Vincent corrected his brother, "Not the word 'clingy.'"

"Neither did I."

"You thought it, though."

Gilbert sighed and muttered under his breath, "Now I understand the diagnosis of paranoia..." He snuffed the cigarette out on the railing, discarding it in the open air, "I'm done now. No doubt you'll follow me back inside."

"I-I need to sleep too..." Vincent followed him into the room, seeing that Oz was already asleep, "Where's Jack?"

"Don't know, don't care." Gilbert whispered, getting under his covers and trying to sleep. He doubted that he would anyway.

Vincent frowned at him, "Don't be so cold."

"I'm depressed," Gilbert buried his face into his pillow, muffling his voice, "I'm not exactly going to be warm, am I?"

"Well... when you say it so bluntly..."

At that second, the bathroom door creaked open slowly, revealing a very pale and sweaty Jack. Vincent noticed how he was trying to get back to his bed without being seen, "Jack?"

Jack jumped slightly at his name, turning to face Vincent's direction as he climbed into bed, "Oh, hey."

"What happened?"

"Oh, right..." Jack scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "I'm fine... I just, sometimes I get a little queasy after nightmares... but I'm fine now, seriously."

Vincent sighed inwardly and rolled his eyes, turning over in bed, "Alright then... whatever you say."

...

The next morning came smoothly after the previous ordeal, and Oz, Gilbert, Vincent and Jack were woken up for breakfast.

"Where's Jack?" Gilbert asked, stepping back into the room from the balcony with Vincent following.

"He's in the bathroom," Oz informed him, flipping through the pages of the book 'holy knight', "Said something about feeling dizzy."

"If we're late for breakfast we'll be in trouble." Vincent pointed out, "We should probably go ahead and tell them what's happening."

"I don't want to get any privileges taken away, so I'm with Vince on that one." Gilbert added.

Vincent grinned and led his brother out of the room, "Come on then Gil. Oz should stay."

Gilbert simply nodded, reluctantly leaving Oz behind to deal with Jack.

Oz watched Gilbert exit as he flopped down onto one of the chairs, reopening his book. Moments later, Jack came out of the bathroom, looking very ill.

"Jack, are you _sure_ you're okay?" Oz asked him, concerned.

"Yeh..." Jack replied slowly, swaying slightly and holding the door frame for support, "Just... visions make you feel a bit ill... I'm fine..."

"Arghh!" Oz stood up, walking over to where Jack was standing, "You're not okay! I don't even know what you were doing in there, but now you're struggling to even stand up. Please? Just let me help you!"

"I already said..." Jack blinked a few times, his vision blurring. He tried to say 'I'm fine,' but he couldn't speak. The room went dark, and he felt incredibly light headed.

"Jack!" Oz yelled as Jack collapsed onto the hard, wooden floor, "Wake up! What happened?"

Jack lay on the floor, unconscious. His golden hair was spayed out behind him, the loose plat trailing down from his head and tangling easily around his waist. His eyes were barely open, and the little of them you could see was glassed over.

Oz was completely fuelled by panic as he leapt up, diving for the red emergency button by their door. He slammed it into the wall, and shortly after, Lacie came running into the room.

"What's going on?" She asked, worried, "You pressed the emergency button."

"Jack fainted." Oz told her, simply accepting what had occurred.

Lacie knelt down where Jack was, "What was he doing before this happened?"

"Uhh. Oh, right! He said he felt dizzy, and went into the bathroom. Vincent and Gil left for breakfast. When he came out, he said something like 'visions make me ill' but I didn't understand that." Oz explained, sitting back down in his chair.

"Okay. He probably had one of his flashbacks again. You should go to breakfast. I'll deal with Jack."

Oz nodded, standing up from his chair and leaving the room.

...

"Gil," Vincent moaned, watching as his brother picked around with his food, "Stop moping!"

"Ugh, Vince. Stop having such high expectations of me." Gilbert sighed, slowly eating his food.

"But Gil! You've _always_ been better than me."

"I don't know why you always say that."

"Because it's true."

"Yes, but" Gilbert glared at him, "It puts a lot of pressure on me."

"It shouldn't," Vincent told him, "It's not very difficult to be better than me."

The two of them went silent. A few seconds later, Oz came running up to them. "HIII! Vincent! Gil!"

"Hey Oz," greeted Vincent, "What took so long?"

"Jack fainted."

"What did you do? I shouldn't have left you to deal with that." Gilbert said, monotonously.

"Relax, Gil. Lacie's in there with him now. I just pressed the emergency button." Oz turned away, "I'm getting food now, bye!"

"Why is he in a place like this?" Gilbert asked, lowering his voice.

"No clue." answered Vincent, "Do you remember much about him when he was growing up?"

"His personality hasn't changed. At all." Gilbert reflected, "He's still the same person. I can't think of anything which would cause him to be in a place like this."

"But, when I found you, he was 13, and living with his Uncle. What happened to his father?"

"I never knew."

"You never asked?"

Gilbert stared at him, slightly confused, and then said blankly, "I wasn't in a position to ask."

"Right."

"IM BACK!" Oz sang, sitting back at the table, "I'm hungry! Let's eat!"

Vincent and Gilbert stared at each other. _What was a person like that doing in a mental hospital?_

...

By the time they returned to their room, Jack had been taken off by Lacie to the therapy room. She had left a note, also explaining that he was stable and awake.

"That's a relief," Oz stated, handing the letter to Vincent, "I was worried when he collapsed."

"Hm," Vincent read over the letter, "Seems like he's hard work then."

"Surely we all are..." Gilbert muttered, and then raised his wrist to look at the time, "Don't therapy sessions start soon?"

"What's the time now?" Vincent questioned.

"About 9:00."

"Crap!" Vincent cursed, "I have a one hour session with Sharon now! How could I forget?"

"You should probably go." Gilbert recommended, "We get punished if we're late for therapy."

"You're right." Vincent hurriedly opened the door, peeking his head back inside before running off, "Bye guys."

The room succumbed to an awkward silence, leaving Gil and Oz standing there.

"How have things been with you, then?" Oz smiled up at Gilbert, the same beaming smile which had never faded.

"Oh, uh... Good..." Gilbert stuttered, fingers itching for a cigarette. But he had to resist that urge; he would never want to smoke in front of Oz.

"Somehow I doubt that," Oz wandered over to the balcony, leaning over the edge of the railing, "Look at where we ended up."

Gilbert cautiously stepped onto the balcony with Oz, his back to the glass sliding door, "I'm surprised Vincent hasn't told you about my depression yet."

"Well he hasn't." Oz watched as Gilbert leant over the metal railing too, almost imitating his exact actions. He observed the others hands shaking, and the nervous look on his face, "You can smoke if you want to. I won't mind."

"Huh?" Gilbert stared at Oz, wide eyed, "H-how do you know that's what I want?"

"Uhh I can see your hands shaking. If you want a smoke, have one." Oz gestured towards the box in his friends coat pocket.

Gilbert froze, staring at the ground. He hadn't seen his friend in 5 years. In some ways, Oz had grown up so much, but his personality had stayed the same. It was refreshing to see. He was pulled out of his thoughts when a cigarette was placed in his mouth. He looked down, and Oz grinned at him as he brought the lighter up to the stick.

"Thank you," Gilbert breathed in, immediately relaxing.

Oz smiled, "Hehe, no problem."

...

The two of them were sitting in silence. Vincent was late back from therapy, by approximately 10 minutes.

"Where's Vincent?" Gilbert asked himself, "I was supposed to start therapy when he came back."

"I dunno," Oz said, even though the question was not directed at him, "Hey Gil?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you here?" Oz questioned, "I mean, I know you were depressed but..."

"When Vince found me and took me from you, I got super depressed, to be honest. He eventually took me here, saying he wanted me to be happy."

"Ah. I see." Oz stared at the door, "Did someone just knock on the door?"

"I'll go check," Gilbert stood up, opening the door. In the doorway stood Jack, "Hey Jack."

"Hi guys..." Jack greeted, "Uh, Sharon wants you to go and have your therapy now. Vincent went over his time but Lacie is free."

"Oh, okay." Gilbert nodded and turned to Oz before leaving, "Bye, Oz."

"Byeee!" Oz sang, swinging his legs in the chair. "You alright now Jack?"

"Yeh..." He replied, embarrassed, "Lacie calmed me down a bit."

"Well, you really terrified me when you collapsed." Oz smiled to him, attempting to comfort the other. Usually his beaming smile could cheer anyone up, "Well, never mind that."

Jack accepted that and lay down onto his bed.

About 5 minutes passed before the content silence was destroyed.

"AHHH!" Oz screamed, throwing his book on the floor and violent ramming his hands over his eyes, "SHUT UP!"

"Oz?" Jack asked, standing up and seeing Oz squirming around on the floor, "What's going on?"

"HE WONT SHUT UP!" Oz was shouting, crying so hard that he'd managed to form a puddle underneath his head, "IM NOT WORTHLESS! I SHOULDN'T BE DEAD! JUST SHUT UP!"

"Oz..." Jack was extremely confused. He was screaming to himself, trapped in this fit of hysteria.

Oz, who was still thrashing around on the floor, looked up to Jack with desperate and hopeful eyes, "MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! HE WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! IM NOT WORTHLESS I SWEAR! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"You're not going to die," Jack knelt down next to him, stroking through his blonde hair and placing his head in his lap, "Relax. He's not here."

"I can... hear him... still..." Oz whispered, screwing his eyes shut as he buried his ears into Jack, "He won't leave me alone..."

"What is he saying to you?" Jack asked. He had figured out by now what was going on.

"He... He's saying I shouldn't have been born... a-and that this body... it's nothing... he said I'm going... to d-die..."

Jack smiled down at the young boy, who was crying in his lap. In some ways, they were both incredibly similar.

...

Oz had fallen asleep in Jack's lap after about an hour. Jack was leaning against the bunk bed, dozing off too.

The door clicked open, and Gilbert and Vincent walked in together.

Gilbert stared at Oz, his face tear stained as it laid on Jack's knees, "What?"

"Oh..." Jack's eyes snapped open, "He had a schizophrenic fit. Wore himself out eventually."

"Well that explains why someone so perfect was in a recovery centre..." Vincent muttered, and Gilbert elbowed him in the ribs.

"He said something about going to university, but instead, his schizophrenia sent him here. I couldn't really understand what he was saying when he was _that_ hysterical." Jack smiled down at the boy, "But he's fine now."

Gilbert and Vincent stared down at the two blondes, asleep as they comforted each other.

Vincent put an arm around Gilbert's shoulder and leant in him, nuzzling his head into his neck, "Well, Gil. Would you ever do that for me?"

Gilbert frowned, swiping his brother's arm away, "No way in hell, Vince. You can try, but you're not getting anything like that from me."


	6. Chapter 6: Group Therapy

_**(A/Ns: I already had this written, so I might as well have uploaded it now. This one is back to Levi, Oswald, Break and Rufus. It was so fun to write I can't even describe it. The hair scene... anyway, enough spoilers, onwards with the story! Also, the next chapter will be Alice and Alyss, with a bit of Elliot and Leo.**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: drugs...**_

 _ **Thank you to all my current reviewers, but to anyone else who reads, please review! It makes the writer very happy :)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: *sighs* I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Six: Group Therapy~**

"Good morning!" Lacie stepped into the room, awaking Levi, Oswald, Break and Rufus by opening the windows, "You better get to breakfast. I'm taking your first group therapy session today at 10."

"What's group therapy?" Levi asked, placing the pillow over his face to block out the light, "We're done with withdrawal, can't we leave now?"

"Answer me this question then," Lacie started, "If I gave you some crack right now, would you smoke it?"

"In a heartbeat."

Lacie rolled her eyes, "Then no, you're not leaving any time soon."

Levi sighed, "Whatever."

"Group therapy is when you all talk about your life problems and shit, then the therapists tell you that 'everything will be okay', and that we don't need to turn to substances to enhance our lives." Rufus told them blankly, after ensuring that Lacie had left the room.

Oswald and Levi both stared at him, "What..."

"How do you know that?" Break questioned, eying Rufus suspiciously.

"I know everything!" Rufus yelled, flipping back his long red hair arrogantly.

"But no one told you the dangers of snorting cocaine?" Levi smirked at him.

"They did," he replied, "But my mind needs simulation. Without cocaine, or sometimes morphine, I have no purpose."

"Is he quoting The Sign of Four?" Oswald looked to Levi.

Levi thought about it for a few seconds, "Yeh, close enough."

...

"How are you eating that much cake?" Oswald asked, observing the several huge slices of cake which Break had piled up on his plate.

Break shrugged, "I haven't eaten in... about 1 month."

"Oh..." Oswald was still confused by Break's demeanour, "Hey, Break?"

"Yes?"

"Did you see what happened to Levi and Rufus?" wondered Oswald, looking around the room trying to find his friend, "When we left them, they said they'd be another minute or so... not 15 minutes."

"No idea." Break told him.

Suddenly, the puppet on Breaks shoulder started screeching, "I didn't even realise they were gone!"

"Now now Emily," Break spoke to the female puppet, "Don't say things like that!"

Oswald just stared in stunned silence, "... Did you just talk to your puppet?"

"Oh, right," Break took another mouthful of cake, "This is Emily. She's been with me for a lot."

"..."

...

"Finally!" Oswald called across the room to Levi. After 30 minutes, he and Rufus had finally arrived in the dining hall, "What the hell took you so long?"

"Relax, Oswald," Levi grinned at him, "We were doing our hair."

"..."

"Don't look so judgemental," Levi took a few strands of his hair, twisting them around his finger. His long hair was tied up, and one of the braids plaited was holding some of the hair up too. One of the parts was hanging over the front, reaching his shoulders. "My hair is important."

"... I thought you used to get the organisation staff to do your hair." he asked, still amazed at his friend.

"They do."

"... So who did it this time?"

"Rufus." Levi pointed to the other man, whose red hair fell halfway down his back, dead straight with waves on the end.

Oswald faced Rufus, "You did his hair?"

"He asked me to." Rufus shrugged, "Besides, he was trying to do it himself, and it was painful to watch."

"So, wait," Oswald shook his head, "You were half an hour late to breakfast, and now therapy, because you were doing each other's hair...?"

"Yeh, pretty much," Levi and Rufus replied simultaneously.

" _You_ were doing _his_ hair?" he raised an eyebrow at Levi, pointing to Rufus.

"Well, my straightener is better, so..." Levi pointed out, "Oswald, I don't understand why _you_ don't understand how important my hair is."

"..."

...

"Great, and now we're half an hour late to therapy, thanks to Levi and Rufus." Oswald frowned, reaching Lacie's door with Break, Levi and Rufus following.

"We'll get punished, most likely," Break added, "What was the punishment for being late?"

"Our privileges get confiscated for a couple of days," Rufus informed them, "Those are usually things like cigarettes, but none of us smoke."

"Well..." Levi jumped in.

"Crack doesn't count," Rufus told him, "Anyway, our kind of privileges will be luxuries, or personal items."

"Yeh yeh, shut up know-it-all," Levi nudged Oswald in the ribs, "Hurry up."

Oswald clicked the door open, revealing Lacie, "Come in guys."

Levi, Oswald, Break and Rufus all entered cautiously, each selecting one of the seats and sitting down.

"Why are you late?" she asked, taking out their files and flipping through the pages.

Oswald alternated his view between Levi and Rufus, "Levi? Rufus? Would you like to tell her why we're late?"

"We were doing our hair." Levi explained simply.

"Technically it was 'team cooperation'," Rufus pointed out, "So we should be rewarded."

Lacie raised a hand to him, "That's not how it works, Rufus."

"It was worth a try..." he muttered under his breath.

"You should know the punishment for being late," she scolded them, pulling out Break's file first, "Break. It doesn't look like you've really brought anything other than clothes with you. So, we'll do this the obvious way, and say you can't have any deserts the next two days."

"Seems a bit unfair," Break stated, "It wasn't me who delayed us."

"Join the club." Oswald whispered to him.

"I heard that," Levi slapped Oswald lightly, "Be careful what you say or I'll be making you do my hair tomorrow."

"I can't even plait hair!"

"So you should just get me to do it then. I don't mind," Rufus proposed.

"Nah, shut up ginger. You might be good at doing people's hair, but you're annoying as fuck," Levi smirked to himself; this was fun.

Rufus, who sat on the other side of the room, burst into tears. Whether they were genuine or attention seeking, no one knew.

Lacie face palmed, "Anyway, Oswald. You also don't seem to have any luxuries. So, we'll put you on the same restrictions as Break."

Oswald nodded. He didn't particularly eat sweet things anyway. Unless they had alcohol in them, of course.

"Now," Lacie faced Levi and Rufus, "It's my understanding that it's your faults that you were all delayed."

"You have no proof of that." Rufus interrogated, resuming his composure.

"No, but looking at you and Levi's hair, I think that it's a more than likely assumption." Lacie then glared at him, silencing the room, "Anyway, as well as the food restrictions given to your acquaintances, neither of you will be allowed your hair gel or straighteners for the next 2 days."

"Nope," Levi simply shook his head, "I object."

"It's not exactly something you can refuse. Sharon is probably listening in on this conversation, and has already taken them from your room."

"Still. I object to this."

Lacie sighed and face palmed again, "Does it really matter?"

"Yes," Rufus interjected, "It does matter."

"Well, tough luck," She cut him off, trying to avoid any more tangents, "We will begin this group therapy session. Now, because it's your first one, I would like for you to each explain why you're here. I'd like to see how much you know about yourselves, and get a better understanding of how you view your addictions. Break, could you please begin for us."

"Alright," Break began, sitting up straight, "I served a family, for a long time, actually. But they were all killed. I lost my eye fighting them, and I'm slowly becoming blind. I become weaker and weaker daily. The strength of the 5 year heroin addiction put so much strain on my body; I didn't think I'd have even a year left in me." He paused for a second, but the lingering silence clearly meant that he was not finished, "I didn't particularly want to be controlled by that temptation, but my doses got stronger, just so that I could feel normal. In all honestly, I don't really want to get better. Possibly because, I'm _still_ not dead yet."

Lacie scribbled down a final few notes before looking up and smiling to him, "Thank you, Break. Rufus? You'd like to share why you're here?"

"I passed out in a car park somewhere," he told casually.

"... Why?"

"Oh, right," Rufus snapped back into reality, "I grew up really rich. My family sent me to private schools, etc. Anyway, when I was about 18, I got so bored of that. I was so smart that university was pointless. So I started simulating my brain with cocaine. Have to say, it works. My mind needs to be engaged; without that, everything seems so dismal. So yeh, I started doing cocaine a lot, and then I got addicted. Simple as."

Levi leaned over to Oswald, whispering in his ear, "He's still quoting that goddamn book..."

"Alrighty," Lacie put down her pen, "Levi, you seem confident. How about you go next?"

"Sure," Levi replied casually, "I joined the Baskervilles when I was... I think 18. I was a pretty low member up until I was about 25, and me and Oswald here had made a name of ourselves. Anyway, some drug job we did meant I got the chance to try crack. The high was so great I just kept smoking it. Turns out that stuff is addictive... and yeh. Oswald found me desperately getting my fix after a really long day, and then I realised it probably wasn't normal. But I was forced here, so I don't particularly need help."

"..." Lacie blinked at him a few times. _How was he so casual about something so serious?_ "Oswald?"

"Right," answered Oswald, "Levi's basically said all the stuff about the Baskervilles. Although, he did forget about the part where he screwed my sister two years ago..." Oswald glared across at his smirking friend, "Anyway, I joined when I was 17. I smoked crack with him a couple of times, but I didn't think it was overly effective. Alcohol did me better. I was probably about 23, maybe 24 when I started drinking a lot frequently. But it was only when I found Levi and his addiction when I was 28 that I realised I had a problem. Yes, it's true that I sent us here, but I honestly don't feel like I'm really recovering."

"Okay..." Lacie wrote extremely fast for a few more seconds, "I think I've got a pretty good idea of how you all feel about your addictions. There's one thing in common amongst you, and that is the fact that none of you actually believe you have a problem. That's what we need to change first. Now, firstly, each of you tell me one thing which you view as a positive outcome of your drug use."

"I got high!" Levi yelled, "Ahh, the crack high was always sooo good."

"..."

"Levi, take this more seriously," Oswald scowled to him, "Anyway, alcohol relaxed me. Being part of the Baskervilles was tough, and it was all less intense when you could be intoxicated."

Lacie nodded, signalling for either Break or Rufus to speak.

"It makes you forget." Break said nonchalantly, staring and smiling to himself up at the ceiling, "You forget eeevvverrythinggg~"

"My incredible mind was forever engaged! The excitement! The information craved that stimulant it received regularly." Rufus bellowed arrogantly, swaying around his straight red hair.

"Now that you have all managed to easily think of a positive, try identifying a negative," Lacie asked them, "Just think of one thing about your addiction which affected your life negatively."

"It's expensive," Break admitted, fiddling with the hem of his sleeve, "But you have to keep buying more. And you'll do anything to get the next fix."

Rufus went next, "Waking up naked in random places next to random strangers is a bit terrifying... and it definitely affects your families' views on you. People lose respect for you easily."

"Thank you," Lacie smiled slightly at him, jotting down even more notes on her clipboard as she listened, "Oswald?"

"Oh..." Oswald was still thinking. Eventually, he had managed to identify one downside to alcoholism, "Everyone tells you that you've got a problem, but all you do is push them away. Then, if you drink _too_ much, you wake up really ill, and can't do anything."

"Levi?" Lacie asked, tilting her head at him.

"Hmm. If you intend on keeping it a secret, which I did, it's almost impossible. If you go out on long days for tasks or whatever, you can't use. It becomes a problem when you need your fix and you can't get it, because everyone notices. And you can't exactly say to them 'oh yeh, I'd just love to smoke a bit of crack right now' because they'd throw you into rehab without a second of judgement. That's the way it affected me, at least."

"Alright," Lacie finished her notes and then pushed them to the side, "One thing noticeable about those is that, all of the positives were temporary, but the negatives were forever affecting you. Also, all of your positives lead to the negatives. So if you think about it, all these addictions did for you were create problems."

The four ex-addicts contemplated for a moment.

Break was the first to interject, "Ah. But sometimes it's worth it."

"Yeh," Levi agreed, "Despite everything, crack was always worth it, especially when you get your fix after a while without."

"And these are things which we need to work on, and get them out of your heads," Lacie said softly, trying to convince them. But, it would be difficult.

Because, how are you supposed to help someone who doesn't believe they have a problem?

...

About an hour later, their session had finally finished.

"Well that was tedious," stated Levi, laying on his bed and folding his arms beneath his head, "and pointless."

"You're telling me." Oswald agreed, "Recovery sucks."

"It sure does, my friend," Levi grinned, "It sure does."


	7. Chapter 7: Sister Act

**_(A/Ns: I finally updated! I know, it's been a week now. This is the first Alice and Alyss chapter. I'm not going to write much for them, purely because I don't have many ideas. This is also a bit of a filler chapter, so excuse the fact that it's crap... Anyway, as for my surprise ch 9, I had to rearrange the orders slightly, and now the surprise will be chapter 10. But, beyond ch 10, I haven't got any plans, so if you have any chapter ideas/requests, please let me know!_**

 ** _Trigger warnings: YAOI! Just a little bit, hehe... hinted eating disorders, swearing, violence._**

 ** _Please follow and review; I won't update unless I know that people are interested._**

 ** _Disclaimer: *sighs* here we go again... I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Seven: Sister Act~**

"What are we doing here?" Alice asked, arrogantly crossing her leg over the other as she sat dominantly on top of the table. She was irritated by her sister's ignorant demeanour, "ALYSS!" she stamped her foot, "Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

Alyss lifted her head up from the desk in front of her, "Lessons," she replied simply, "We're still of school age. They told us this yesterday, remember?"

"No," Alice said blankly, "I was too busy eating meat to give a shit."

"There are two other students, but they're not here," Alyss told her lazily as she laid her head back onto the desk, her long white hair acting as curtains to block out Alice from her view.

"I didn't ask for extra information!" Alice yelled.

"Alice please... It's still too early to be yelling..."

"IT'S NOT EARLY!"

At that moment, two boys walked into the room. Alice stared at them. One had short, dull blonde hair, and sharp eyes which glared straight back at her. The other shorter boy had messy brown hair and big round glasses, and was extremely skinny.

Alice raised an eyebrow at the new people who she'd never acknowledged before, "Who the hell are you?"

"Don't speak to me like that!" the blonde one retaliated.

"Elliot stop..." the shorter one calmly spoke, and then turned to smile at Alice, "Sorry about him. That's Elliot. I'm Leo, by the way."

"Blah blah blah I don't care," Alice stood up onto the desk which she was previously sitting on, "Where is our teacher?!"

"Alice," a stern female voice called from the corridor, "Get down from there please."

"Who was that?" Alice glared at Lacie as she walked into the room, completely ignoring her request, "Why are you late?"

"Alice, that's rude," Lacie scolded, sitting down in her desk, "But in case you're wondering why I was late, Levi and Oswald tried to break out." she frowned at the thought of the two of them, "Anyway, that's irrelevant."

The four students took their seats; Elliot and Leo on the back row and Alice and Alyss at the front.

"Now, because all of you are still legally required to have an education, this centre will provide you with the necessary learning needed to complete your compulsory exams. Because you are of different abilities, I'll give you different tasks."

"Tch," Alice scoffed, crossing her arms over moodily, "I dropped out of school!"

"Yes," Lacie agreed, smiling manipulatively as she dumped a large booklet of work on her and Alyss' desk, "But now you're back in."

Alice stared at the work booklet with wide eyes and a horrified expression, "I'm not doing this!"

"You don't have a choice, Alice." Lacie sighed, getting frustrated by the other, "If you're stuck, just ask. This is stuff you should already know."

"But I haven't been at school fo-"

"Alice," Alyss looked up to her, "Just do it. This is stuff is easy."

"Uhhhh fine," she groaned, picking up a pen from the desk and flipping open the first page, "I don't get it."

Alyss sighed again and began explaining it to her twin.

Meanwhile, since both Elliot and Leo had been ahead of the kids their age, they were given advanced work.

Ever since the incident a few days ago, they hadn't spoken much about it. They'd grown very close as friends. But, when it came to any sexual feelings towards each other, they kept quiet.

Of course, Elliot's clinging to Leo every second of the day hadn't changed, if not worsened, because of it.

Each of them opened the work sheets and began speeding through them, answering every question with ease.

Alice and Alyss, however, we still stuck on the first question.

"I don't fucking know what factorising is!" Alice yelled, slamming her pen onto the desk, "I don't give a shit what x is!"

"Alice, shut up," Alyss deadpanned, "I don't know how to do it either. I never understood maths."

Lacie sighed from her desk, "Is there a problem?"

"Yes!" Alice exclaimed, "I don't know what factorising means!"

"Well, what is the question?" Lacie asked, walking over to her and Alyss and sitting on a chair next to them.

"x^2 + 10x + 24" Alyss explained, laying her head back onto the desk as if she had simply lost the will to live at this point.

"Ok," Lacie started, walking up to the whiteboard and taking out the pen, "This expression is a quadratic, meaning that to factorise it, you would end up with two brackets, x being at the beginning of both. Because all of them are positive integers, the brackets can be positive."

Lacie started writing on the board, copying out the expression and then (x+ ) and (x+ ).

She continued, "Now, how many factors of 24 can you name?"

"What the hell is a factor?!" Alice scoffed.

"A number which is divisible by 24."

Alice thought about it for a few seconds, "Uhhh… 4 and… 5?"

Alyss perked up and stared in amazement at her twin, "4 and 6…"

"What?" Alice said, mentally counting the numbers within her head, "Oh! Shit! Yeh..."

Lacie stood at the whiteboard, her arms crossed over her chest as she was losing the will to continue, "Okay, 4 and 6. Now, what is 4 + 6?"

"10!" Alice yelled, "Yes! I know this!"

Lacie stared in awe at her for few seconds. _We need to put her on stronger medication…_ she thought, "Well done. Now, just put 6 and 4 in the brackets, and that's the answer."

"Oh," Alice stared at the writing sprawled across her paper, "That was easy."

"Yes. You were supposed to learn that when you were 14," Lacie pointed out.

"Ehhhh I stopped going at about that point."

Lacie sighed, "I can tell."

Meanwhile, Elliot and Leo had already made it onto the extension questions, all of which were beyond their ability.

Or at least, they were supposed to be.

"Elliot," Leo whispered, trying to get his attention, "Elliot."

Elliot blinked a few times and looked up from his paper, "Hm?"

"What is the answer to question 7b?"

"I don't know…" Elliot said, confusion spread across his face as he tried to understand what was written on the paper, "I'm stuck on exactly the same one."

"Are we asking for help?"

"Nah, I'm sure we can figure it out," said Elliot hopefully. However, on the inside, he wasn't so sure.

…..

Finally, after 2 long hours of class, the 4 of them were let out.

Alice and Alyss had decided to head back to their room. Plus, there was also the fact that Lacie had banned Alice from the relaxation room because of inappropriate behaviour during the lesson. Of course, _that_ meant that Alyss was dragged with her.

"I don't get it!" Alice complained, jumping up onto the top of her bunk bed and looking down on Alyss, "Why were we told to stay here?!"

"By 'we' you mean 'I', right?" Alyss pointed out, "I can leave when I want."

"Tch, shut up."

"Alice," Alyss sighed, "I don't even know what to do with you anymore."

"You don't have to do anything! I'm perfectly in control!"

Alyss raised her eyebrow at her, "Really? You _sure_ about that?"

"It's not my fault…" Alice reasoned.

Alyss was filled by a sudden pang on guilt. But, her sister's attitude had pushed her to the limit that day, "Alice, just shut up now, _please_."

"Eh?"

"I said just get over it."

Alice was filled with anger as she leapt down from the bunk, right on top of Alyss.

"GET OFF ME!" Alyss screamed, as Alice straddled her, scratching at her. Suddenly, Alyss managed to push her twin off of her and pin the brown haired girl up against the wall. Despite currently being in a depressive state of her bipolar, Alyss could still hold her own in a fight.

Alyss held Alice up against the wall with her wrists pinned above her head.

"Ouch!" Alice thrashed around in her sister's grip, but she was held still in that position, "Let me go!"

"Only if you stop blaming your behaviour on everyone else!"

"It's not my fault!" she screamed.

Alyss scowled at her, "Who else's fault is it then?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Alice cried, a few tears falling from her violet eyes.

The room fell into silence, a few muffled sobs coming from Alice but that was it. A few seconds later, Alyss leant forward, pulling Alice into a tight hug. She was a completely different person. But after all, that was inevitable. Alice often drove her insane. Although, despite that, in the end, she _was_ her sister.

…

In their own room, Elliot and Leo were sitting on the same bed, making out. Elliot had one arm wrapped around Leo's waist, as he had his arm hung over Elliot's shoulder. Their mouths connected ever so slightly, whilst both of their eyes were shut. They'd been doing this for a while now, even though it was the first time ever since the incident a couple of days ago.

Leo moved slightly, crouching on his knees as he continued sliding his tongue around Elliot's mouth. Elliot's hand then shifted to his deep brown hair, holding him tighter.

A few minutes later, they finally parted for breath. Leo collapsed backwards onto the bed, panting as he smiled briefly up to Elliot, "Was that… good enough?"

Elliot was still blushing slightly as he said, "Yeh… definitely…"

"Hehe, good," Leo stood up, leaving his glasses on the bed next to where he and Elliot previously were and walking into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

Elliot stared at the door, but didn't bother to listen. He knew something was up with Leo, but he didn't want to ask him.

All he could do was hope Leo was ok. However, in all honesty, he wasn't so sure of that.


	8. Chapter 8: Memories

_**(A/Ns: ahhh I am the worst! I had really bad writers block for this story, and I don't even know why! Regardless, I have done it now! The next chapter will be Oswald and Levi, and this chapter is Oz, Jack, Gil and Vincent. This is long to make up for the last shitty chapter btw. What motivated me in the end was the song Lullaby by Pro Green. It really inspired me to write, especially applying to Jack. So give it a listen, its a really meaningful song.**_

 _ **Please review and favourite. I love my current reviewers, but to anyone else reading, please let me know what you think! i'm also open to chapter requests, so please PM me if you have any ideas.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters.)**_

 **~Chapter Eight: Memories~**

"I can't."

"You have to."

"I can't." Gilbert repeated stubbornly.

"Please?" Vincent begged, "Gil, the centre said they'd help you this time. And if you want to stop at any point, you can."

"I've tried 8 times, Vince," he pointed out, "It's pointless."

Vincent pouted for a few seconds, "Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"I can't."

"Yes you can!" Vincent tried to persuade him, but it was to no avail.

"No." said Gilbert, quickly getting up from the chair and walking to the door to avoid further interrogation. Because, he knew if he let Vincent beg for long enough, he would have no choice but to give into his brother's request.

"But why not?" Vincent whined, standing up and raising a hand to the door, slamming it shut and locking Gilbert in.

"…" Gilbert hesitated before reluctantly answering, "… I don't want Oz to think I'm weak."

"Gil, Oz already thinks poorly of you."

Gilbert glared at him, "N-no he doesn't…"

"Ugh Gil…"

"Vince, I'm sorry, but I'm not doing it."

"Please?"

"I _can't_."

"It's a friendly request from _me,_ Gil," said Vincent, "As your brother, I don't want to lose you early because of some stupid habit."

The other shrugged, "I don't care. I'll die someday."

"Look, all I'm asking you to do is quit smoking."

"Tch," Gilbert scoffed, "I think you'll find that's much easier said than done. Trust me, I know; I've tried, and _failed_ 8 times."

"Well… the ninth time might be lucky!"

Gilbert frowned, "Somehow I doubt that."

"It's different this time!" Vincent reasoned, "Gil, _please._ I know you'll be able to do it this time. Even if you don't want to stop killing yourself, just… do it for me." He paused, "… Please?"

"Alright," Gilbert sighed in obvious defeat, "I'll do it."

"Yay!" his brother celebrated, pulling him into a tight and protective hug, "Thank you."

Gilbert tensed obviously at his brother's touch, "Be ready Vince. I'm gonna be an irritable bastard for the next few days…"

…..

"Uhh… What's wrong with Gil?" Oz wondered curiously, putting down his volume of Holy Knight. He was laying on his front, sprawled across his top bunk. Underneath him was Jack, staring into space. He'd had one of his visions earlier, and consequently still felt rough because of it. Vincent was sitting on top of his bunk, drawing disturbing images as an attempt to distract himself from his brother's distress. Occasionally, he glanced over worriedly at Gilbert, but soon refocused his vision as he knew it was only upsetting him.

Maybe his brother was right; maybe he couldn't do it.

Gilbert, on the other hand, was determined. He was sitting on his bed, foot tapping restlessly against the floor. His book had been abandoned long ago, and his thoughts were clearly somewhere else. His entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and he was slightly hunched over the edge of the bed.

He let out a low grunt, grabbing hold of his messy black hair and forcing pressure against his pounding headache. He didn't want to answer Oz's question personally. However, he was also so irritated by… life, that he didn't think it was anyone else's job to explain why he wanted to destroy everything in that room (apart from Oz, obviously.)

Of course, Vincent disagreed.

"He's putting all his effort into quitting smoking," he explained, "The ninth time may be the charm, after all."

"Nine times?" Oz's eyes widened and he was worried that his response could be perceived as offensive. Fortunately, he glanced down at Gil, noting that his attention had focused elsewhere.

"Yes," replied Vincent, "He seems dead-set on quitting cold turkey, even after it failed so many times."

"Why?"

"To act like a spoilt brat?" Vincent suggested, smirking at his own comment. At that moment, however, Gil snapped out of his trance, and therefore heard everything Vincent had said.

"Vince…" he warned threateningly, "Don't push me. I'm already feeling like shit as it is, and I'm just one push away from having an entire mental breakdown."

"Um…" Jack interrupted, trying to avoid further arguments, "Just out of interest, when did you last smoke?"

"About…" Gil paused for a second in thought, "Yesterday morning, I think?"

"So you've gone more than 24 hours!" Oz cheered, "That must feel like good progress, right?"

"S-sure…"

"Gil can do it," Vincent said hopefully, despite not being so sure anymore. After all, he hated seeing Gil put himself through so much. But, he knew he had to do it, and personal feelings shouldn't be interfering.

…

"Where's Gil?" Oz asked, looking around the dining hall as he sat down with him food, joining the company of Jack and Vincent.

"He apparently feels like crap," Vincent explained, his expression fading into one of sadness and empathy, "I forced him into this. But, he's gone 3 days now."

Oz took a bite from his food, "How long has he managed to go before?"

"5 days," said Vincent simply, "Usually he only managed two though, so this is still pretty good."

"Why did he start smoking?" Jack asked, picking around at his food. He'd hardly slept at all the previous night, too afraid of the nightmares which he was all too familiar with. He'd had them more frequently recently, and was unable to sleep as a result of it.

"He was depressed," Vincent responded, grimacing at the memories of when Gil was in his care, and he first found him in his room, puffing eagerly on a cigarette. "I found him after a long time, and took him from Oz. He doesn't ever blame me, but I know I am at fault for his depression. He wanted to stay with Oz, but I wanted him to be happy."

"You're all connected?" Jack's interest was piqued, suddenly realising that a lot of the residents at the recovery centre were linked. Briefly, he considered if he was linked to anyone else, but disregarded the idea soon after. The flashbacks it would bring back would be too painful.

"Yeh," Oz grinned, "Gil got to watch me grow up! Ahhh, it was so fun! We used to run around my uncles manor. It was soooo big! The grounds were also so huge, and we could explore all day! Ada, Gil and I once ran away from one of the maids, and she tried to seek us out again by sending Ada's cat out to find us. Gil screamed so loudly that she ended up finding us." Oz smiled at the memories, "Ahh, I miss being younger. Growing up sucks."

"You're telling me," Jack muttered, feeling slightly jealous of how Oz happy could be when he thought about his childhood. But, he knew that Oz hadn't said everything from his childhood. His father had clearly abused him, and he was still haunted to this day because of it.

"I just hope Gil is okay…" said Vincent, "I don't even think he really wants to do this."

"How come?"

"To be honest," Vincent reasoned, "I think he's perfectly content with slowly killing himself."

…...

"Gil!" Oz called, running into the bedroom when Gilbert and Vincent both were, "You've gone six days without a cigarette! Congratuallaatiionnnnsssss!"

"Shhh." Vincent ushered Oz harshly, placing a finger over his lips, "He's finally asleep after going 4 days without any sleep."

"Oh, sorry," Oz whispered, but still managed to grin, "He looks so vulnerable. Where did Jack go?"

"Therapy," Vincent replied, his voice hushed so that he did not awaken his brother, "His visions have been getting worse, and he's too scared to sleep."

"Aww, that sucks."

"Yeh. I think they're gonna put him onto medication for insomnia."

"But…" Oz stiffened, even blushing slightly at the thought, "Surely not being able to wake up would trigger…"

Vincent tensed as well, picking up from where Oz's voice had faded, "Yeh… that's what I thought."

"Hehe, let's not think about it then. I'm going outside before they set the curfew."

"Have fun," Vincent smiled in return, watching as the young blonde exited the room, gently shutting the door out of respect for Gil.

Oz sprinted down the corridor in a haste to get outside. He needed the fresh air; the voices were returning, and he didn't want to have a schizophrenic fit in front of Gil. He was fully aware of the stress Gilbert was already undergoing, and didn't want to make it worse.

Once he was outside, he walked over to the two swings which hung from the large tree, which draped over the yard, creating a slight shadow in the sunset light. Sitting down on one of the swings, Oz let his eyes fall shut, trying to cut out the light and shut out all sounds. However, the voices in his head were the ones distressing him the most.

Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly get rid of those.

"Shut up…" he murmered, screwing his eyes shut and burying his hands into the skin underneath them, "I'm not… worthless," he said to himself, feeling several tears escape his eyes and fall down his face, "Shut… up…"

He continued muttering to himself like this for a good half hour, until his schizophrenic trance was interrupted by a voice calling out to him.

That voice belonged to Jack.

"Oz?"

Oz didn't acknowledge what was being said to him. Instead, he continued to cry, tears streaming down his face as he held in the sobs, meaning the entire garden was filled with an awful silence which he simply did not want.

"Oz, talk to me," Jack approached him calmly, sitting on the swing next to him. He pulled the blonde hair away from the other's wet face, "I'm worried about you, please respond."

"Why me?" Oz's voice cracked, a sob catching in his throat as he spoke hoarsely, "What did I ever do?"

"Sometimes bad things happen to good people," Jack confided, sympathetically rubbing Oz's shoulder, trying to reassure him that it would be okay.

"He won't leave me alone…" the younger blonde sobbed into Jack's shoulder, his tears staining the fabric as he cried continuously, "He won't… just…. shut up."

Jack stood up, placing his arms around Oz's trembling body and picking him up, bridal style. He carried him away, the limp body drifting to sleep. In all honestly, Jack wasn't the most sympathetic person in the world.

He just wished that when he was like this; when he was in this condition… someone would've done the same for him.

….

Jack knocked lightly on the door of their dorm. He was unaware of Gil's current predicament, so he wasn't even sure if he should enter, given that Oz had been gone from the room when he discovered him. Regardless, a few seconds later, the door slowly opened, revealing an extremely exhausted Vincent.

"Hey, Jack…" Vincent whispered, tiredly rubbing his eyes, "What happened to Oz?"

"Oh, he had another breakdown," Jack told him, walking into the room and setting Oz into his bed, tucking him under the covers, "I don't think his medication is really working."

"Yeh…" Vincent confided, climbing into his own bunk and wrapping himself in the covers. He yawned, feeling utterly drained after having to deal with Gil for the past few days. And, to make things worse, Gil's nicotine withdrawal didn't seem to be decreasing even remotely. "I heard you were given insomnia medication… are you sure you should take it?"

"Oh right," Jack said sheepishly, "I- I should be fine…"

"Alright," Vincent rolled his eyes inwardly, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow. He was fed up of Jack telling people that he was fine, when he clearly wasn't.

Speaking of Jack, the blonde had taken 2 pills, swallowing them dry as he went to the bathroom before sleeping. He climbed into the bottom bunk underneath Oz, praying that he would be able to sleep peacefully just this once.

…

Oz woke up at around 2 in the morning. He wasn't sure what had woken him, since he felt perfectly fine physically. He looked outside, noting that the light from the moon only briefly shone into their bedroom. It certainly wasn't a trigger which would wake him up.

He scanned his surroundings, wondering how he got there. The last thing he remembered was hearing overwhelming voices, and then being picked up and carried inside by an unknown person.

Suddenly, he heard a low moan escaping from the person below him. Oz shuffled to the end of his bed, hanging his head over the edge of the bunk and peering underneath his bed.

Jack was squirming around in his bed, tossing and turning repeatedly. Oz frowned, climbing down the ladder and jumping onto the floor. He walked silently over the where Jack was, and shook his shoulder to awaken him. He had an idea of what might be happening, but wanted reassurance.

"Jack?" he whispered, lightly shaking his shoulder, "Wake up."

Jack's eyes fluttered open. They rested shut for a few seconds, but Oz knew he was fully awake. All of a sudden, Jack shifted under the sheets, feeling the wetness surrounding him. He felt himself deeply blush, his eyes involuntarily widening, "Shit…" he cursed, scrunching up the covers around his thighs to try and conceal the fact that he had, in fact, wet the bed. "Oz… I-I…"

"It's okay, really," Oz chuckled, "I know it's a symptom of your PTSD. I know you can't control it."

"But…" he stuttered, a single tear rolling down his face out of shear embarrassment, "I-I'm sorry…"

"Jack…" Oz sighed, helping the older man stand up. He helped his shaking form to the bathroom, telling him to clean up whilst he sorted out the sheets. Jack simply smiled gratefully yet sheepishly at Oz, before locking the door behind him.

Unfortunately, the small noise that they created had managed to wake up both Vincent, and Gil.

"Oz…" Vincent asked, his voice groggy, "What the hell happened?"

"Jack had one of his… _accidents…_ " Oz informed him.

"Jeez…" Vincent face palmed, looking down at Gil in the bed underneath him, "Gil, are you aw- oh."

Gil had one hand scrunched up in his hair again, and was crying to himself.

"Gil?"

No reply, except muffled sobs.

"Gil?" Vincent repeated, "Are you ok?"

"I can't do it…" he whispered, pressing down into his eyes, actually displaying physical pain, "I- I can't keep doing this."

Vincent sighed in defeat, "Gilbert, if you really don't want to do this, you don't have to."

"Really?" Gilbert sniffed, standing up, leaning on the bed frame for support, "Y-you won't be mad if I give up?"

"No," Vincent said honestly, "You're my brother, I'll never be disa-"

Before he could even finish his sentence, Gil rushed outside, picking up the pack of cigarettes from the desk and lighting up the second his foot touched the balcony. He breathed in the toxic smoke, feeling as if he might collapse from the immense euphoria he felt after that first single drag.

"Oh well… at least he tried." Vincent watched as his brother continued to smoke, shaking his head and sighing, "Well, maybe the ninth time _isn't_ the lucky charm."


	9. Chapter 9: Relapse

**_(A/Ns: I finally did it! I've been working on this chapter all week, and I've only just found the motivation to write it tonight. This week has been difficult, not gonna lie, so I've sorta felt a bit too shitty to write. But, I'll be fine. Anyway, this chapter is Levi and Oswald. As for the cliff hanger, sorry about that, but you won't know what happens next until chapter 11, since my surprise in chapter 10 supposedly happens at the same time as this chapter. As for my surprise, it is mainly for my best friend who is helping me with this. She has also been really helpful to me this week. But, don't be too disappointed if the next update isn't for a while, since it's something ive never done before so it may take a while._**

 ** _Also, I am half way through writing chapter 1 for a 3-part Pandora Hearts fanfic about addict!Break. So I may try get that done._**

 ** _As always, please review and follow! I love hearing what you think. Also, I now have plans up to ch 15, but I still need ideas beyond that._**

 ** _Trigger warnings: Strong and detailed depictions of drug use._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters.)_**

 **~Chapter Nine: Relapse~**

"Uhhhh," Levi groaned, flopping back onto his bed next to where Oswald had sit, "Group therapy is getting boring now."

"You're telling _me_ ," Oswald agreed, shifting away from where his friend had irritatingly landed on him, "I just wonna get out of here and drink. It's not making anything better."

"Why won't Lacie just let us break out once?" Levi asked, face palming in exhaustion, "I mean come on, we've already tried 3 times. Surely she can take the hint."

Oswald sighed, "Levi, as much as I want to get out of this shit hole too, I think you'll find the point of rehab is to make sure we _don't_ relapse. She's not just gonna let us out knowing full well that we're just gonna get fucked."

"Don't patronise me with logic."

"Look, I'm just sayi-"

"Oswald," Levi cut him off, eventually finding the will power to sit up, "Let's just try to break out one more time."

"It's not gonna work…" Oswald grumbled, "But alright."

"Good," Levi smiled, "We go tonight, when Break and Rufus are in their group therapy."

"Where's Sharon gonna be though?"

Levi paused, "… She'll be somewhere. Also, why do we have different therapy to Break and Rufus? We're all addicts."

"Yes, but they actually _want_ to get better," explained Oswald, "Well, they act like it at least. We don't even bother trying."

"Fair point." He replied, twirling a strand of hair around between his fingers, "Are we telling Break and Rufus?"

"Depends. Do we need them to cover for us?"

"Rufus is arrogant as," Levi pointed out, "So we can't trust him. And Break might want to come with us."

"How could he come with us?" Oswald asked, screwing his face up, "Levi, remember; he's blind."

"Oh right. Yeh. Good point."

"So we're not telling either of them?"

"Nope."

….

"So how are we getting outside again?" Levi asked, gathering the money that they had stashed up, "They won't just randomly let us outside… especially after last time."

"Good point," Oswald suddenly realised, pausing and thinking for a few seconds, "You could say you need a smoke?"

Levi's facial expression immediately turned to one of disgust, "No! Why can't you do that?"

"Because," he began, "One; you smoke crack, it's basically the same thing. Two; unlike me, you _have_ smoked cigarettes occasionally, so I'm sure you can manage to make it look natural without dying or coughing."

"How many times do I have to explain this? Crack and cigarettes are completely different!"

"Not really," reasoned Oswald, "I mean, they both destroy your lungs."

"And there you go with the logic again!" Levi complained, "Fine, I'll do it."

"Good," Oswald stood up, walking over to the door, "Can we go yet?"

"Hang on…" said Levi, checking himself in the mirror and repositioning parts of his hair.

"Levi…" Oswald sighed irritably, "Come on. Your hair looks fine."

"Fine isn't good enough," Levi commented simply.

After another few seconds, Oswald stepped over to Levi and pulled him out of the door, ignoring all of his complaints. They walked down the corridor, trying to act natural. Once they got to the back door, which led to the gardens, they were immediately halted by a calm yet threatening female voice.

"Levi? Oswald?" Sharon called, walking over to them with the same devilish smile she usually worse, with the intention of seeming harmless and innocent, "Where do you think you're going?"

Oswald cursed inwardly for trusting Levi's plan and instincts.

"I want a smoke," Levi answered, "It helps with my cravings sometimes."

"I'm not supposed to get you hooked on any more drugs," Sharon explained. However, shortly after, she frowned at her realisation, "But technically I'm not allowed to refuse, so… I'll just be keeping an eye on you."

Levi and Oswald thanked her, but were internally kicking themselves as they walked outside and were led to one of the benches. Levi scowled at Oswald, sitting down next to him and lighting up from the pack which Sharon had given him. He tried not to grimace as he breathed in the smoke, and attempted to imagine it as crack.

It wasn't working.

Meanwhile, Oswald was sitting next to him, looking extremely smug. Even though they wouldn't get the opportunity to break out, Levi still had to suffer. _Serves him right,_ he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Sharon's emergency signal device on her shirt starting sounding repeatedly, the red light flashing and the alarm screaming. She sighed, picking it up with only a slight hint of concern as she answered it, "Yes?"

 _"_ _Leo just collapsed!"_ the voice on other end yelled frantically.

"Elliot, calm down. What happened?"

 _"_ _We were…"_ the other person paused awkwardly, _"Look, it doesn't matter what we were doing. He just suddenly collapsed!"_

"Fine, I'm on my way," she said, and then turned suspiciously towards Levi and Oswald, "Don't even think about moving. I'm sending another one of the security guards out to watch over you."

Sharon promptly scurried off, and despite her threat, Levi and Oswald knew that this was their chance. Levi threw the cigarette away. "Never again…" he muttered, grimacing at the taste and dashing away to the 2 foot fence where Oswald was.

"Help me up," Levi said hastily, "You're a better climber than I am."

"Fine," the other did as he was instructed, giving Levi's foot a boast as he climbed over the fence and jumped down onto the other side of the ground. Oswald then pulled himself up the metal bars, rotating his body and climbing down the other side.

"Hey! What are you-" a male voice yelled, but the realised that the two men had since escaped from the area in a desperate attempt to leave. Unfortunately, they had succeeded.

He sighed, turning on the emergency device and contacting Sharon.

 _"_ _Yes?"_ her voice replied.

"Levi and Oswald are gone."

….

"Yesss!" Levi cheered once he and Oswald had reached the town, "We're out!"

"Yeh… after a… 20 minutes sprint…" Oswald panted, "They'll come after us… we don't have very long."

"Well then, let's make it worthwhile," Levi smirked, "Now, where would my drug dealer be?"

Oswald stared at him, raising an eyebrow, " _This_ is where you got your drugs from?"

"Yes. It was cheaper."

"Well, where would he usually be?"

" _She._ " Levi corrected him.

Oswald blinked at him, "What."

"My drug dealer is a she," explained the other, "She's part of the Baskervilles, you know. You've met her before I think. After that drug job near here, she does dealing."

"…"

"What?"

"Never mind," Oswald dismissed himself, looking around the area and locating a liquor store, "Make it quit. Find her."

Levi saw what his friend's eyes had focused on, a smug look developing on his face, "Don't worry, I'll make it quick for ya," he smirked, pulling Oswald into a nearby alley way, "She's usually hanging around here."

The two of them waited for a few minutes, standing around pointlessly in various different alleys waiting for Levi's dealer to magically show up.

"I gotta piss," Levi announced suddenly, gesturing to one of the large trash bins shoved into the side of the alley, "Watch out for her. She's got pink hair, and dresses like a slut."

Oswald grimaced and muttered to himself as Levi walked away, "You truly have no shame." He stood against the wall, back leaning against the bricks as he turned away from Levi. A few seconds later, a black silhouette appeared at the end of the alley.

"Oswald?" the voice called, her voice sharp but also curious, "Is that you?"

He kicked himself off of the wall, knowing that he'd heard that voice before, "Lotti?"

"That's right," said Lotti, expressing the same sadistic look she usually wore as she approached him, "What are you doing here? I heard you and Levi got sent to rehab a couple of weeks ago."

"We did, but we broke out tonight," he explained, still shocked that this girl was, in fact, a drug dealer.

"Why?" she grinned at him, sticking her hand in her pocket and gripping something, "So that you can relapse?"

Facing the floor sheepishly, Oswald admitted, "Yeh, pretty much."

"Well then," she smirked, retrieving a pipe, lighter and bag of tiny white crystals from her coat, "I'm guessing you'll want these."

"Yes, I will."

Both Lotti and Oswald turned around, seeing Levi emerge from the dumpsters and handing Lotti the cash.

"Sorry, nature was calling," Levi explained simply, receiving the drug paraphernalia which Lotti gave him, "Thank you."

"No problem," she smiled, all too sweetly, "So you guys have already given up?"

"Pretty much," stated Levi, tucking the bag into his back pocket, "We're gonna get going now. It's only a matter of time before the rehab send people out to find us, and we gotta get Oswald here some booze."

Lotti raised an eyebrow at Oswald, "You're an alcoholic? I thought you were both on crack?"

"Nah, he's boring," Levi mocked to Oswald, receiving a weak glare from the other.

"Well whatever," Lotti shrugged it off, "Don't overdose; you remember what happened when you did." Levi stood silently, embarrassed but also relieved that Oswald didn't know what had happened. "Bye guys."

The two watched as she walked away, turning around and walking the other way towards the liquor store themselves.

"You're right," Oswald commented, checking to see that Lotti had left, "She is a bit of a slut."

"Yep, she's pretty good in bed too," Levi chimed.

"What?"

"I banged her."

"…"

…

"Jeez Oswald," Levi raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend pick up several bottles of liquor from the spirits shelf, "Slow down. If you wake up with a hangover, I'm not gonna be holding your hair back as you puke."

"You never did anyway…" Oswald retorted, "And I haven't drunk in two weeks. Give me this once."

"Whatever… just make it quick ok? Crack cravings get pretty strong, especially when there's some awaiting me in my pocket," he groaned, gripping his pocket and lowering his voice slightly at the last comment.

Oswald sighed, "Alright, I'm done."

The two of them wandered over the counter, putting down all the bottles and handing over the cash. The store clerk eyed them suspiciously, but continued processing their purchase. Once he was complete, Levi and Oswald picked up their items and left the store, avoiding eye contact with all the people throwing them suspicious looks. Instead, they sheepishly kept their heads down, the realisation that they were about to relapse after all that progress hitting them like a sack of bricks.

"Where are we going?" Oswald asked, casually the searching the area for a suitable place to indulge.

"Somewhere concealed…" Levi replied quietly, "I can't get caught doing crack in public, or else I'm in deep shit."

"True. Should we look for a bush or somewhere sheltered like that?"

Levi smirked, "Ooh kinky, I didn't realise you swung that way, Oswald."

"Ugh. Let's just go."

Oswald and Levi wandered around for a while, eventually finding a deserted park and a wall, heavily sheltered by a large willow tree. The two proceeded to the area, sitting down against the bricks and pulling out their vices.

The second the vodka bottle was in his hand, Oswald hastily screwed the cap off and frantically pulled the rim to his lips, gulping several mouthfuls in only a couple of seconds. He eventually pulled away, grimacing at the sharp taste which had invaded his mouth. But, despite that, the satisfying pang of the alcohol burning in his throat and entering his system felt pleasantly nostalgic.

Meanwhile, Levi had finished preparing the crack pipe. Holding it up, he placed the plastic tube into his mouth, flicking the lighter underneath the receptacle and breathing in deeply, feeling the euphoric rush of crack enter his veins and flow into his brain. He breathed out the smoke in steady stream past is slightly pursed lips, laying his head back lightly onto the wall behind him.

"Wow…" Levi sighed in bliss, smiling to himself as he took a second hit and spoke through a cloud of crystal white vapour, "This feels so good…"

Oswald looked across sideways to him, "Definitely. This feels so good."

"I know," Levi agreed, breathing in the drugs continuously as he felt his muscles relax and numb, "Clearly we weren't ready for all that. I'd say we're fine like this."

"Yeh…" said Oswald, but even Levi could detect the hint of sadness in his voice and he stared nonchalantly down at the bottle in his hands.

Levi deadpanned. "What?"

"It's nothing."

"Oswald," he said sternly, "You're a terrible liar." He took another hit, "What is wrong?"

"It's just…" he responded, trailing off as he took another gulp of the alcohol, "W-we made all that progress, and now it seems like it was pointless."

"But we never _actually_ made progress, did we? This isn't progress, Oswald. It's failure," Levi smiled down at the pipe still filled in his hand, his eyes showing a hint of guilt behind those dilated pupils, "But I guess that doesn't matter. The Baskervilles never expected much from us anyway."

Oswald drank from the bottle once more before placing it down behind him and opening a different one, "Yeh, I guess you're right."

…..

Three hours later and it was pitch black, all signs of life disappeared from the town.

That was, obviously, excluding the two relapsing addicts sitting in the park, completely and utterly intoxicated.

Levi had taken to drinking about an hour ago, having finished all the crack Lotti had deemed safe for one night. Oswald had managed to devour 3 bottles of spirits by now, and had moved onto the beer along with Levi. Between the two of them, they couldn't stand, nor see properly in front of them.

"Levi…" Oswald groaned, picking up a new bottle of beer and throwing the other at the wall, watching the glass shatter against the concrete, "… stop talking about fucking my sister…"

"But she was goooood!" he whined, smirking to himself and pulling a leg up to his chest.

Oswald grimaced, "I don't need to know that…"

"Yeh, well… ah fuck, lemme tell the story again…"

"I don't need to know Levi… I was in the same room when you asked her…"

Levi grinned wider, "Aha, but you _weren't_ there afterwards, eh?"

"But I really don't thi-"

Oswald's speak was halted immediately by an elastic band being flung at his head. Soon after, Levi received the same treatment.

"Ouch…" Oswald muttered, picking up and staring at the elastic band in wonder.

Levi did the same, "What the fuck…?"

All of a sudden, a silhouette emerged from the shadows, and Lacie stepped out, shining a light on the two of them and smirking.

"Well well well... Who do we have here then?" said Lacie, finding the faces of shame expressed by Levi and Oswald to be quite amusing, "Hehe… got you!"


	10. Chapter 10: Misbehaving

**_(A/Ns: I HAVE DONE IT! AFTER 6 MONTHS OF FANFICTION WRITING I HAVE FINALLY DONE IT! THE FIRST TIME EVER! Kay, this is mainly for my friend who is helping me with the ideas for this, under the agreement that i'd include Elliot x Leo. So, that's what you get! Yes, this is the first time I have ever done this, and you can skip it if it really isn't your thing. I don't know how good it is tbh. I don't plan on writing another one anytime soon, but yeh, I guess this was something different. So, without further ado (that how u say it), enjoy!_**

 ** _Please review and follow, I would love to know what you think (especially this chapter) and any ideas you have! Also, if you want to read some addict!break, chapter one is up of To Forget, which you should check out if you enjoy this fanfic._**

 ** _Warnings: eating disorders, yaoi and LEMON! THAT'S RIGHT; I WROTE A LEMON lol half of you probably hate me now._**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Ten: Misbehaving~**

Sharon approached Leo and Elliot's dorm, preparing herself for the exaggerated drama which would almost certainly come from Elliot. She walked up to the door, knocking lightly before opening the door.

"Elliot, tell me with _out_ exaggerating; what happened?" she asked him.

Elliot was sitting on the floor, crossed legged with Leo's head in his lap, "He just collapsed!"

"What happened _before_ that?" she sighed, knowing she'd have to coax the full story out of him.

"Well," he shifted, "We were sitting on my bed… then we walked somewhere else. We stopped… well, what we were _doing,_ and then he walked towards the bathroom, and just fainted!"

Sharon face palmed inwardly, not even beginning to think about the never-ending list of activities which they could have been engaging in before the incident. Instead, she simply crouched down next to Leo, checking his pulse and moving his unconscious body onto his bed, "He should be fine. Just let him rest. I need to go and tell Lacie about Oswald and Levi… just wait and call the infirmary if he gets any worse."

Elliot nodded, waiting until Sharon had left the room before stepping over to Leo, running a hand softly through his hair as he whispered sadly, "Oh Leo… what's wrong with you?"

…

After about an hour of anxious and tedious waiting, Leo finally began to wake up.

The second Elliot saw his eyes flutter as he turned over and groaned he dashed over, standing by the bed and watching the noirette. Leo blinked his eyes open slowly, trying to sit up but finding he did not have enough strength to do so.

"W-what happened…?" Leo whispered, not even able to summon enough energy to speak properly as he placed an arm over his face.

Elliot sat next to where his feet were, "You collapsed, remember?"

"Not really…"

"Well… we were…" Elliot blushed furiously, "… doing… um… a-anyway, we stood up… and then you left to go to the bathroom. But on the way you just fainted." He paused, assumptions and accusations at the ready as he asked the other, "Leo… when you pulled away and left, you seemed… shocked, I guess. W-what were you going to do?"

"Nothing," Leo lied, finally mustering enough strength to sit up with the wall supporting him.

"Right…" Elliot raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but ended up realising that throwing accusations at him would only cause another argument, "Are you okay now?"

Leo gulped, feeling slightly nauseas as he nodded hesitantly, "Y-yeh… I'm fine."

"Good," Elliot smiled falsely, standing up and walking towards the bathroom, "I'm getting you water."

Leo nodded again, swallowing thickly as he watched Elliot stand up and proceed to the bathroom. He was only gone for a few seconds, returning shortly after. Leo held out his shaky hands, reluctantly taking the drink and sipping slowly from it.

After a few sips, Leo could already feel his fragile stomach trying to reject the liquid, rolling around awkwardly.

"Leo?" Elliot questioned, seeing as Leo abruptly placed a hand over his stomach and widened his eyes, "You alright?"

He shook his head slightly, cupping his hand partially over his mouth. His breathing became heavier as he sat up shakily onto his knees.

"Elliot…" he said, his voice hoarse, "p-pass me the bin…"

Elliot caught on immediately, hurriedly fetching the bin from across the room and placing it in front of Leo. He gripped the sides, a pained wretch erupting from his throat as he coughed up acid. However, once he and Elliot looked down, they were left completely and utterly speechless by what was there.

It was straight blood.

"Leo!" Elliot shouted, pulling the other's hair back as he continued coughing up the rest of his stomach acid, only traces of blood remaining, "What?! Y-you're throwing up blood?"

"N-no…" Leo dismissed, collapsing back onto the wall as he waved a hand lightly at Elliot, "'m fine…"

"No, you're not," Elliot declared, placing the bin on the floor and laying his head on the pillow, "I'm calling the infirmary."

Leo groaned almost inaudibly, "No… please don't…"

"Why not?"

"Because…" he gazed up at Elliot, eyes displaying nothing but guilt and sadness, "… never mind, do what you want."

He walked over to the door, pressing the emergency signal and waiting for it to be picked up. After a few seconds, the call received an answer.

 _'_ _Hello? Elliot?'_ he could hear Lacie's voice on the other end, sounding as if she was very annoyed about something.

"Leo's throwing up blood… he collapsed about an hour ago."

Lacie sighed irritably, _'Uhhh… I'm coming now. I can't stay long though; I need to go and find Oswald and Levi soon."_

"Okay… thank you…"

The two waited for Lacie in an awkward silence, Elliot refusing to remove his gaze from Leo, analysing every single one of his physical symptoms. Leo just faced down sheepishly, keeping his eyes fixed on the sheets whilst he picked around with a loose thread hanging off of his shirt as a distraction. He knew this was not going to go well.

After only 30 seconds or so, the door opened, Lacie stepping in and walking over to where Leo was sitting on the bed. She pulled out a first-aid box, and then turned to say to Elliot politely "Could you leave the room?"

Elliot nodded hesitantly, turning on his heel after throwing a faint smile towards his friend and exiting the room. Preferably, he would prefer to stay in there, since he knew how aggressive Leo could get when something happened against his will. Fortunately, he hoped he wouldn't have enough strength to take do anything too drastic.

He pressed his ear against the door impatiently, trying to hear what Lacie was saying. Unfortunately, all he could hear were muffled voices, and possibly a few quiet sobs. He prayed that Leo was alright.

Luckily for him, only a couple of minutes after, the door clicked open, and Lacie shut the door behind her as she stood across from Elliot and leaned on the wall.

"Has Leo been doing anything strange recently? Anything he shouldn't be doing?" she asked, her voice now sounding concerned.

Elliot thought about the question for a few seconds, "Well… he's been eating all his meals, which I did find a bit odd considering the circumstances… but, he's a very secretive person. I don't know of anything else."

Lacie sighed, "He's been purging everything. His stomach lining is beginning to break down. He's ripped apart his entire stomach at this point. If he doesn't start making progress… well…"

"Well what?"

"… he would die. His organs would fail from the lack of energy and he wouldn't be able to stay alive. As for his stomach, well… he'll struggle as it is to get better, but if something isn't done now, and if he doesn't participate in help as well… things could become irreversible." She paused for a moment, allowing Elliot to take in all the information he'd just been given.

"So…" Elliot said, astonished at everything he'd just been informed; he had no idea things were that serious, "What do I do now?"

"We can put him on a strict food diet. But since it's a breach of privacy, we can't put cameras in your room. The only thing we can really do is put blocks on the toilets and sinks, which would mean he couldn't purge. But these things are like addictions; they can be very hard to stop. You need to be there for him."

"O-okay…" replied Elliot, "Thank you."

Lacie nodded, checking her watch and cursing under her breath as she dashed off down the corridor. Elliot waited a few seconds before opening the door and proceeding over to Leo's bed, sitting next to the boy and brushing the hair away from his eyes. Leo flinched slightly, but didn't pull away.

"How much did Lacie tell you?" Elliot questioned softly, wiping away the stray tears from the noirette's face.

"T-that I needed to stop…" Leo whispered, "… or otherwise things would get worse."

Elliot smiled, "And can you do that for me?"

Leo gulped, "… no."

"Oh…" he frowned, trying to find ways in which he could get Leo to stop moping, "Can I ask a question?"

"It doesn't really matter what I reply," Leo pointed out, "You're still going to ask it anyway."

"… Fair point. Earlier… what were you going to do when you pulled away?"

"I…" Leo hesitated, contemplating whether he should admit the truth or not, "I realised I'd forgotten to like… _get rid_ of dinner."

"Oh, right…"

"I'm sorry," apologised, Leo, turning his dead back down.

"It's fine," Elliot comforted him, pulling his chin back up to level with his eyes with his own, "Now then," he said, bringing Leo's face closer to him, "Shall we pick up from where we left off?"

Before Leo could reply, Elliot's lips were shoved against his, kissing him lightly before placing a hand on the side of his face and requesting entry to his mouth with his tongue. Leo teased for little bit, keeping his mouth closed before eventually giving in and allowing Elliot to explore his mouth. Elliot's tongue shifted around his own, opening his mouth wider as Leo scrunched a hand up into the other's blond hair.

The two continued this for a few minutes until Elliot changed their position, keeping his lips on Leo's as he grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down onto the mattress. At this point they finally parted, desperately panting for breath as Elliot climbed on top of Leo, his legs straddling his hips whilst he placed his lips back onto Leo's.

Elliot's hand slowly slid up Leo's neck, starting at the top and unbuttoning his shirt gradually. When he reached his crotch, he lowered his hips onto Leo's feeling him harden underneath him. He smirked, biting the other's lip and drawing blood. Leo flinched at the sudden pain, pulling away.

"Ouch," he whined, wiping the saliva and blood away from his lips, "That hurt."

Elliot snickered, feeling Leo's erection underneath him, "You seem to enjoy it."

Leo blushed, noticing the obvious bulge on the front of Elliot's pants, "So are you."

"Of course I am."

He leaned back down, lying fully on top of Leo as they continued making out. Elliot moved his lips from Leo's, sliding his tongue down his neck and onto his chest, kissing him further as he began unbuttoning his pants. Leo slid his hand down Elliot's shirt, doing the same and reached his pants. Once done, he undid Elliot's zipper, pulling him out of his underwear as the same was done for him shortly after.

"Turn over," Elliot whispered, dragging his tongue over Leo's ear and watching as the smaller boy did as requested. He pulled his trousers down further, straddling Leo's hips once again as he pulled two fingers together, "Ready?"

"Nn…" Leo groaned, face turned up from the pillow and breathing heavily, "Yes… please…"

Elliot nodded, immediately thrusting two fingers into him and stretching him. Leo groaned in pleasure, panting harder once Elliot had hit his pleasure spot. The blonde grinned, adding a third finger.

"Ah! E-Elliot!" he moaned, gripping the pillow.

"You want me to stop?"

"N-no… j-just… do it… fuck me now…"

Elliot smirked, "As you wish."

He removed his fingers from Leo, who was now stretched enough, and repositioned himself over Leo's hips. Slowly, he slid himself into the other, hearing him grunt and moan as he moved down further.

"That okay?" asked Elliot.

"Yeh… ngh… t-that's fine…" he groaned, loosening the tension around him, "Move now."

Elliot thrust into him, hearing him moan in pleasure as he began to move with more force. Leo continued moaning beneath him, enjoying the feeling.

"Does it hurt?" Elliot checked.

"Ngh… y-yes but… it feels… good."

They continued for a few more minutes, Elliot moving a lot more until Leo cried, "Ah! E-Elliot! I-I I'm gonna… ngh…"

"Don't yet," Elliot instructed, figuring they could play that game for a little bit.

"I can't… for much, ngh… longer."

"Alright," Elliot thrust one more time, until he finally came inside of the other. Leo could feel himself being filled; tightening once Elliot pulled out and collapsed back onto the bed next to him, "Now come for me."

Leo thrusted his hips upwards, and eventually came all over his stomach, panting from relieve once he and Elliot had been covered in the sticky substance.

The two lay for a few minutes, panting restlessly for breath as they occasionally smiled at each other.

…

After another hour, the two had finally both showered, Elliot keeping a close eye on Leo as he still didn't really trust him not to purge.

They returned to the room, showered and redressed.

"So..." said Elliot, staring at the bed sheets, "How are we gonna explain _this_ to the cleaners?"

Leo shrugged, "I don't know."

The blonde sighed, walking over to the clean bed and sitting down, patting the mattress next to him and allowing Leo to sit down. Leo took the hint, sitting on the bed next to him and laying his head on Elliot's shoulder.

"Are you happy now?" Elliot questioned, looking down at the brunette. He nodded, "I told you I'd have to feed you if you misbehaved."


	11. Chapter 11: Hangovers

_**(A/Ns: I am so terrible! Yah, I didn't update in 9 days cause I am crap. I planned on finishing this on Tuesday but I got sick :'( and then I had to professionally procrastinate out of doing revision for my GSCE, which sadly did not include writing. So I've finally done the exam and I'm writing again! This takes place straight after chapter 9. It's a mix of Break, Rufus, Oswald and Levi. Next chapter is going to be sooo sadddd! Yeh... I have planned this fanfic out now. I have plans for 20 chapters, and I hope to finish this by Christmas. But that probably won't happen tbh.**_

 _ **Please review and tell me what you think; I take any kind of reviews! I also love hearing what my readers think about the story so far, and any possible predictions for ch 12?**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: Mentions of drugs and addiction**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Eleven: Hangovers~**

 _All of a sudden, a silhouette emerged from the shadows, and Lacie stepped out, shining a light on the two of them and smirking._

 _"_ _Well well well... Who do we have here then?" said Lacie, finding the faces of shame expressed by Levi and Oswald to be quite amusing, "Hehe… got you!"_

Levi and Oswald continued staring in fear, instantly sobering up slightly as they registered her piercing gaze. As intoxicated as they were, even _they_ knew that they were screwed.

"So what _are_ you doing here?" she asked them, waiting for their reply as she took the bottles they were currently drinking from and jerked them at the wall, watching as they smashed on the bricks into shards of glass; all whilst still expressing the same cunning smile, "Surely you knew you'd be caught?"

No reply.

"Giving me the silent treatment, are we, eh?" Lacie mocked, laughing at the frozen shock displayed on their faces as she continued confronting them, smashing the remaining booze on the wall, "Well whatever. As long as you can pick yourselves up and get in the car, you don't have to tell me anything." She grinned, turning on her heel and gesturing for them to follow her, "… well, until tomorrow morning, that is."

Levi and Oswald hesitantly stood up, shakily walked over to where Lacie was turned to them and following once she began to walk again. Oswald exchanged a look to Levi, which simply indicated _'We're fucked, aren't we?'_ Levi nodded promptly.

Lacie continued walking until they reached a grey car, opening the door and waving to the inside, "Get in and don't speak."

The two obeyed immediately, acting somewhat like two children who had just been caught doing something they shouldn't have. Except, this time, it was two fully grown men who had been caught relapsing after they'd managed two weeks clean.

Oswald frowned at Levi weakly, accusing him of the trouble they were in. Levi responded with a look of apology, registering that their current predicament was his fault. Despite everything though, they were still both extremely glad that they'd got their fix after so long without it.

Unfortunately, neither of them had accounted for the aftermath.

….

Once they had arrived back at the centre, Lacie lead Levi and Oswald back through the halls to their room. It was dead silent, everyone being asleep apart from those three. It was about 2am, after all.

"Now," Lacie whispered harshly, leaning on the door of their dorm as if she were about to open it. Instead, she just glared up at the two of them, speaking in an extremely intimidating manner; "Go in there, sleep, don't even think about waking Rufus and Break up, and once you've sobered up a bit, try and think of some of the suitable consequences we might give you in the morning." And with that, she left.

Levi and Oswald looked towards each other, sighing and clicking the door open slowly and walking inside. They collapsed onto their beds, not seeing the point in changing their clothes or doing anything like that. Instead, they passed out almost instantly, the toll of the drugs and alcohol hitting them like a sack of rocks.

The second they had passed out, Break sat up, having hardly slept at all like usual. He stood quietly, tiptoeing over to Rufus' bed, where he watched the red head sit up and run a finger through his locks as he let Break sit down next to him.

"So they broke out then, huh?" Break whispered, a saddened smile spread across his face, "Almost wish I'd have gone with them."

"Tch," Rufus scoffed, neatening his hair as he sat back against the headboard, "Don't stoop as low as their level. They were stupid to make that much progress and give up."

"Well then," Break smirked, inwardly irritated by Rufus talking about addiction as if it were an easy process, "You've clearly never felt the toll of a 5 year addiction, have you, hm?"

Rufus scowled at him, "I was addicted to cocaine too, you know."

"Aha, but for how long?"

"Two years…" he replied after a short pause.

Break suppressed his frustration, "See now, you wouldn't know what it's like."

"Whatever," sighed Rufus, but then his tone of voice shifted, "I never realised you were struggling so much."

He froze, eye slightly widening as he turned away from Rufus and frowned, "Somethings are better kept as secrets."

A few seconds later, Break stood up abruptly to avoid further questioning; he didn't want to talk about this right now. Or at all, for that matter. He stalked over to the bathroom, grabbing one of the buckets tucked away under the sink and placing it down beside Levi and Oswald's beds. He then proceeded to fill up two glasses of water, requesting for Rufus to come over to him.

"What is it?" Rufus asked, stepping into the bathroom with the other and partially shutting the door behind him. Immediately, he saw Break holding the medicine cabinet door open, eye squinted as he attempted to read the labels, "Do you need any help?"

Break glared at him, sheepishly facing his head down and stepping away, leaving the cabinet open, "I'm trying to get painkillers. And sleeping pills. I can't see them."

"Here you go," Rufus chuckled under his breath after handing Break the aspirin, "Why do you need sleeping pills? Are you going to try and drug them or something?"

"No…" Break grunted, leaning against the counter as he began feeling weak, "I didn't take mine earlier… I-I forgot…"

"Well… um okay," he responded, rustling around in the cupboard and passing Break the pills, "Why do you like you're about to collapse?"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not. I'm not stupid."

"I'm alright, just a little weak."

Rufus eyed him suspiciously, "I don't believe that the heroin addiction is the only thing putting strain on your body, but I'm not analysing you right now. Just take your pills and get into bed."

"Good," Break expressed a pained smile as he swallowed the pills dry, knowing full well that he had taken them earlier as well. They weren't working, "The more I have to talk about things, the more I have to remember."

Fortunately, Rufus didn't hear him as he placed the painkillers on the bedside table between Oswald and Levi beside the water. He didn't turn around once to look at Break as he climbed into his bed and faced the wall, not caring whether Break was trying to sleep or not.

After all, he wasn't the _only_ one suffering there.

…

The next morning, Levi awoke to the beautiful sounds of Oswald puking up everything from the previous night in the bucket, which had mysteriously appeared beside their bed. He grimaced, feeling his own stomach roll as he turned over and faced the other.

"Well…" Levi greeted, displaying a fake smile, "This is certainly a pleasant awakening, I must say."

"Shut up…" groaned Oswald, dry heaving once more before wiping his mouth and lifting himself back onto his bed. He looked across to see Levi sitting up; sipping from one of the glasses of water which had also magically appeared with a hand placed lightly over his torso. He swallowed deeply, and Oswald could see clearly that his first priority had been taking the painkillers, "You okay?"

"Hm?" Levi turned towards him, titling his head towards Oswald and grinning weakly, "Well… if I said yes, I'd be lying."

"What's up?" Oswald asked, only a little bit concerned for his friend.

"Crack comedown," he replied quietly, eyes drooping as he remembered exactly how he got addicted, "It was at this point that I usually took the next fix, so…"

"Do you need anything?"

"Nah," Levi then clambered off the bed, abruptly standing up and staggering over to the bathroom.

Oswald watched, calling after him with a grimace, "You gonna be sick?"

"Yep." He slammed the door behind him, collapsing on the ground in front of the toilet and hanging his head over it.

Shortly after, Oswald heard the disgusting sounds of his friend throwing up from their room, and considered going in there to assist him. However, after brief contemplation, he decided against it, considering Levi had never assisted him in the past with his hangovers. Speaking of which, Oswald dry-swallowed the painkillers set out for him, feeling the aftermath of getting completely wasted. He didn't even _try_ to imagine how much he had actually consumed.

A few moments later, the door opened, revealing Break and Rufus, who entered and shut the door behind them. Rufus went to sit on his bed, pulling out a book and starting to read, blatantly ignoring Oswald and Break, and not even bothering to ask where Levi had ventured to.

On the other hand, Break smiled sympathetically at Oswald, moving the bucket to underneath his bed and sitting onto his own.

"I see you woke up then, ehh?" he said, kicking his feet up onto the bed and laying back against the window, "What did you do last night?"

"Do you _really_ have to ask that?" Oswald retorted, "I think you already know."

"Well, from what I can see, you relapsed," he said bluntly, "But what I want to know is not _what_ happened, but why?"

Oswald thought about it for a few seconds, and finally came to the conclusion that he didn't really know why, "I'm not sure… I guess, well… we weren't really ready to get help. The Baskervilles forced us into here. I guess we were just okay as we had been. Neither of us really want help."

"Huh… and you think all of us do?"

"I… I don't understand what you mean."

Break rolled his eyes inwardly, "Do you truly believe I think that I can get better?"

"… I never really thought about it… I guess you always seem to go along with everything, so…"

"Hmph. So naïve," Break commented, grinning to himself as he watched as Oswald's frustration and confusion escalated, "5 years… for five years, heroin was all I turned to. The only thing which I felt ever listened. There was only one person I ever talked to about it, and he tried so hard to get me off it. I didn't care of course," he paused, sighing and glancing away to face the window, "Sure, I've done the withdrawal, but that's only the physical addiction. We all want to run back to our vices, more than it may appear. In some ways, the more you behave in here, the quicker you get out."

"So…" Oswald contemplated for a few seconds, "You're telling us to behave so we get out faster and relapse?"

"No. I'm telling you that's why I didn't choose to break out." He admitted, "I'm not doing this for myself. I am doing it for the person who sent me here. It's hard though. Really hard."

"Huh, you're telling me." Oswald agreed.

After a short pause, Break chuckled to himself, "Sometimes you just have to find a purpose, convince yourself you have a reason, and paint a fake smile on your face; just to get through this. After all, the more you tell yourself a lie, the quicker it becomes the truth."

"Uh…" Oswald was lost for words, trying to understand and register everything he'd just been told, all whilst his head felt like it was being repeatedly smashed with a hammer because of the hangover.

Fortunately, around that time, the usual loudmouth and conversation starter stalked back into the room and landed next to Oswald on his bed next to him, whacking the side of his shoulder with his long hair and smiling weakly to him.

"Hey Oswald, you making new friends?" Levi mocked, gesturing towards Break, "You are truly hopeless without me."

"Says the person who can't even do their own hair…" Oswald retorted.

"Oh that reminds me," Levi grinned, taking a gulp of water before picking up his hairbrush and shoving it to his friend, "Do my hair."

Oswald stared at the hairbrush in his hand, "… what."

Levi laughed to himself, pulling his cardigan back over his shoulder and twirling a strand of his hair around in his fingers, "I need someone to redo it."

"…"

"Aw," fake pouted Levi, "Oi, Rufus."

The red head never looked up once from his book as he responded, "Yes?"

"I need you to do my hair again."

"I did it last night," Rufus pointed out.

"Yeh but… we broke out."

"And why exactly did you decide to do that?" Break intercepted, "I think all of us here know it was your ' _brilliant_ ' idea."

Levi smirked, "Cause we're the bad kids."

Oswald instantly threw him a disapproving look, "What the hell?"

"I'm curious though," Rufus began, finally laying down his book and sitting up to face them properly, "What were you expecting to get out of last night? Surely you knew you'd get caught?"

"I guess we just wanted to get one more fix before we actually took things seriously here," Levi suggested, but showed no sort of sincerity in his expression.

"Yeh…" Oswald mindlessly agreed, knowing straight away that Levi didn't mean what he said in the slightest, "But when we met one of the members of the Baskervilles, she made us feel pretty shitty about breaking out."

"But did you get what you wanted?" Rufus asked.

"Yeh, I suppose we did get completely wasted," Oswald replied.

"We didn't get _everything_ we wanted," Levi pointed out, receiving a questioning look from the others, "What? I was hoping to get laid."

"…"

The room fell into silence.

"Oh great," Break was the first to speak up, joking sarcastically; "Now you're a sex addict, too."

"Why did you say it with such sarcasm?" Levi questioned, "I was serious."

"Ugh," Oswald grimaced, trying to erase the images of Levi asking his sister to make love with him when he was, literally, right next to him, "Do you have any innocence left at _all_?"

"Uh, look at me," Levi replied, grinning as he wrapped an arm around Oswald's neck, his hand hanging off of his friend's shoulder, "Why would I need innocence?"

Oswald frowned deeply, attempting to detach his friend from his shoulders, "Could your ego get any bigger?"

"Probably," Levi responded simply, "Give me more people to fuck and let's make this a bet!"

"I wasn't serious…" Oswald face palmed, throwing Levi a side glance once he finally released him.

"Have you guys always been friends?" Break mused, watched the two of them with a perplexed look on his face, "You seem like complete opposites."

"I got him into the Baskervilles. So he does everything I say." Levi informed Break.

"I would've got in on my own, though," Oswald grunted, "You can't fight for shit."

Levi slapped his friend, "Shut up."

"Whatever it was," Break changed the topic, "You complement each other quite well. It's weird; I'll admit that."

"Good to know we confuse people," said Levi, standing and lying on his own bed, "I'm going back to sleep now."

"Me too," Oswald copied his actions, lying back down and wrapping himself in the sheets.

In a matter of seconds, the toll of the hangover had hit them, and they had fallen asleep immediately.

"So," Break asked, getting up and sitting on one of the chairs, "When are the visitors coming to see us?"


	12. Chapter 12: Visitors

_**(A/Ns: I updated quickly for once! You watch me bruh! Anyway, this is a reallllyyyy long chapter, over 4k words, but it includes every feature I ever do for my writing and it's every single character too. Btw, Vincent and Echo will be explained further in ch 13, so just wait and you eventually find out what they did. Anyway, this is the first time I ever did any straight shipping! Yes, there is some Levi X Lotti in here haha.**_

 _ **Thank you to my friend for helping me with ideas for the entire chapter, I think they gave me inspiration for a great chapter. This is both funny and depressing... I know, a real juxtaposition there!**_

 _ **Please review, I love hearing about what you think. Also, thank you to Brelice4Eva(?) for your constant support!**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: strong drug mentions, some sexual scenes.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Twelve: Visitors~**

"Okay, listen up," Lacie called to the 9 patients, who were all sitting around in the communal room waiting for their visitors, "All of you are expecting visitors today. Please keep arguing to a minimum; I'm not cleaning up any of the blood. Anyone one coming today will be searched, and once they are here you are allowed to go anywhere."

"Uh, why are there 3 people missing?" Oz asked, his curiosity piquing.

Lacie shifted awkwardly before answering, "They don't have any visitors available to them. Alyss and Alice are in their own room, and Leo will be in his room. It would be considerate for you to avoid them today."

The rest of them nodded, anxiously waiting for the people coming for them. However, none of them actually knew who would be coming. The centre had contacted their families and friends to say they were accepting visitors once it had been 3 weeks, but none of the patients knew who had responded to the invite. Therefore, none of them actually knew who they were waiting for.

"Who do you think will come for us?" Levi pondered, facing Oswald and drumming his fingers repeatedly against the edge of the chair.

"I doubt any of the top members will come," Oswald said quietly, "After all, having two of your members sent to a rehab isn't exactly a positive accomplishment."

"Hm. Fair point."

On the other side of the room, Oz was talking endlessly to Jack about his family and when Gilbert was living with them.

"I really hope Uncle Oscar comes today!" he cheered, swinging his legs back and forth off the chair, "Ooh and I miss Ada too! Hey Gil! Remember Ada always had a bit of a thing for you, eh?"

Gil blushed furiously, "S-sure…"

"How old is Ada?" Jack asked, wondering who the hell would actually want to come and see him. He could only think of one person, but since arriving he had noticed a connection between his friend and one of the residents, so instantly hoped that it wasn't that person.

"17. She's only a year younger than me, but… she always followed me. And looked up to me," Oz smiled sadly, "I hope she doesn't think badly of me for this…"

"Trust me, she wouldn't," Gil comforted, reassuringly rubbing Oz's shoulder. Vincent glared at him from a distance, pissed off by the close proximity his brother had with another person at the present. But, instead of letting his overly protective brotherly instincts take over, he refrained from interfering and simply sat back grumpily in his chair, knowing exactly who would be visiting him.

Across from them, Elliot was sitting petulantly, sulking with his arms crossed over childishly and legs kicked up onto the coffee table in front of him. In all truth, he didn't _want_ to see his family. They'd sent him to a mental hospital because he was too clingy; why would they want to see him? Fred, Ernest and Claude wouldn't dare setting a foot in such an establishment, so all he could theorise was that Vanessa would come strutting in, saying she missed her dear Elly and then presenting him with a three hour lecture. Honestly, he wished Leo were with him.

He glanced to the right of his slightly, and noticed Rufus and Break sitting close to each other, but both disregarding each other's existence. Rufus looked completely relaxed, fiddling with a loose strand of hair which lay drooping off of his shoulder. He looked like he could care less, but who knew what he was _really_ thinking.

However, Break next to him was the complete opposite. Although desperately trying to remain stoic, even the likes of Elliot could tell he was panicking, trying to force all those useless emotions to the back of his mind. It was obvious that he knew who would be visiting.

After a few more minutes, the door shot open, and 9 anxious heads whipped around to look at who it was.

It was a female, and she looked around the age of 25. She was dressed in a red dress, which draped down straight to her ankles and was low cut around her breasts, giving the entire room a nice eyeful of her cleavage. Her hair was once again blood red; exactly the same colour as Rufus', and was tied up at the back with the fringe cut straight across her forehead. With her rogue lips and revealing clothes, she looked almost dangerous.

Jack sighed, sweating slightly as he realised his visitor had arrived.

Even since arriving at Pandora Recovery Centre, he'd noticed how Rufus had the same surname as his friend, as well as looking almost identical. He hoped they resembled one of those cliché 'long lost siblings' stories, but knew that was a far-fetched possibility.

"Jack?" she called, scanning the room and finally locating the blonde. Her eyes widened with joy and craze once she spotted him, "Jack! Ahahaha! Woo, it's been so long! Ahaha!"

He giggled along nervously, standing up and immediately being engulfed in an uncomfortable hug, "Ah… yes… Miranda. I'm glad you came… hehe, it's good to see you."

"Oh I just had to!" Miranda cheered, fiddling with the messy plait hanging down his back, "Ohwowhaa! This isn't good enough, Jack!"

"Alright… but, should we go somewhere else?" he offered, hoping to distract her from noticing Rufus and causing a scene, "Everyone is staring…"

"Mhm, yes. We can in a moment, but first…" Miranda paused, releasing Jack from her hold and turning around to face everyone else. Jack face palmed the second that she laid her eyes on Rufus.

Without properly finishing her sentence, she stalked over pretentiously to the other red head, standing over him and promptly delivering a swift kick to his shin.

Up until that point, Rufus hadn't bothered looking up from the book which he had previously opened. However, once he felt the pain spread through his leg, he looked up in confusion and said; "Huh? Miranda? Why are you here? H-how did you even get told I was in here?"

"Ugh, Rufus… Firstly, Jack is one of my… hm, how should I put it- acquaintances? And secondly, the entire Barma family knows about you being sent to a rehab. News spreads quickly, ya know."

Rufus frowned at her, "But you're my cousin. How did it get that far!? I thought Arthur agreed to keep this confidential! Ugh... this is a mess…"

"Huh. Agreed," she mocked, "You were the smartest in the family. Everyone expected so much of you. And what did you do? Drop out of school and get addicted to coke. Congrats Ruf… congrats."

"Shut up…" Deadpan.

"I'm sorry, but when the truth doesn't hurt, nothing will," Miranda smiled sadistically, "I mean seriously, what were you thinking getting wasted and doing cocaine? The stuff is disgusting."

"My mind craved simul- wait; how do you know what it's like?" Rufus questioned, suspiciously raising an eyebrow at his cousin.

"I've never tried it, jeez. Don't lump me in with scum as low as people like you. That's just plain insulting. Addicts are the worst; it's how you ended up like you are now."

"At least I'm not a frickin stripper…" he muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, she heard.

"What did you just say to me?" interrogated Miranda, screwing her face up and grabbing the collar of his shirt.

"I called you a stripper, you whore." He said simply.

"Well at least I've got a proper education, and I've managed to go 25 years clean! And why is that exactly? Oh yeh, cause I've never done drugs!"

"Okay I didn't get addicted on purpose, you know," Rufus tried to defend himself; "I was bored."

"Tch," she scoffed, releasing him and throwing her cousin against the back of the chair. She opened her mouth ready to throw a steady stream of insults at him, but instead had one of her hands pinned to the back of her head by Jack, "What?"

"I-I think we've caused enough of a scene now, Miranda," he said calmly, "We should leave."

"Ahaha! Sorry Jack, anything for you my darling," she purred, stroking his blonde hair and dragging him out of the room with her. However, on her way out, she spotted Oswald, and winked at him boldly before finally exiting.

Oswald blinked a few times in astonishment, "… Did she just wink at me?"

"Oh Oswald," Levi shook his head sadly, "That's called flirting."

Deadpan. "Yes, I know that. But what does it mean?"

"It means she wants your dick."

"…"

Speaking of sex (?), the door swung open, smashing into the opposite wall with a noticeable crash. Oswald and Levi both turned their heads, knowing exactly who would enter a room with a display such as _that_. Her hair was dead straight but full of volume, the pink colour matching her devilish eyes and painted lips. She was wearing a short black mini skirt, and her breasts were barely covered by the pink skimpy crop-top. She smirked defiantly, her 7 inch, red, platform heels making her stand above everyone else. Over everything else, she had the signature Baskervilles cloak draped over her shoulders.

"Hello boys!" she called, strutting over to Levi and Oswald, and sitting on the side of Levi's chair, alarming close to his lap, "How've ya been?"

"Hey, Lotti! Not bad…" Levi replied, running a finger up her thigh, "We should go somewhere else. How about our room? After last weekend… well, we got banned from going outside."

"Sounds like a plan," Lotti stood up, her heels clomping across the floor as she followed Oswald and Levi to their room, "The other roomies not gonna be here?"

"Trust me, they wouldn't follow Levi and a hot girl into a room..." Oswald muttered under his breath, "Actually, now that I think about it… I'm not sure why I did either."

"Relax, Oswald," Levi sighed, kicking his shoes off and sitting down onto the bed, "I'm not gonna bang her…" A sneaky grin quickly spread across his face, "… yet."

Lotti winked at him, "Wouldn't be the first time, would it?"

Levi laughed as he watched Oswald grimacing at the thought, and decided to change the topic, "So Lotti, did you bring me anything?"

She sighed regretfully, hanging her head and saying in shame; "I tried to sneak in a flask of whiskey and a tiny bit of crack, but… they found it in the frisk search, unfortunately."

"Where'd you hide it?"

"In my bra."

"…"

…

Meanwhile, Elliot's visitor had arrived, and sure enough it was his sister: Vanessa.

She was cooing over him, asking questions about how he was doing and whether he and his unappealing personality had made any new friends.

Of course, he _didn't_ mention losing his virginity… to another guy.

"So, Elly…" Vanessa said, her tone shifting as they sat down on one of the benches outside, sheltered by a large oak tree, "You mentioned you were sharing a room with someone else. Who is he?"

"Why do you want to know?" Elliot retorted.

"I'm just curious as to who he is…" she reasoned.

"Well… he's 16 too… grew up in an orphanage. He got sent here for eating disorders. There's… not much else I know about him."

"What's his name?"

"Leo."

"Can I meet him?" she requested.

"You can but…" he laughed at the thought of his friend's usual demeanour, "He's not the friendliest person."

"Well, I know you pretty well. I can see you've taken a liking to him." She smiled, "Do you and him get on well?"

Elliot's mind flashbacked to having sex with Leo a few nights ago, and he blushed furiously, "… Yeh, I guess you could say that…"

…

Back in the waiting room, Vincent's foster sister, Echo, had arrived. Unfortunately, the centre had sent them to another room, since apparently their behaviour was deemed 'dangerous' and 'threatening.'

Shortly after Vincent throwing a mini tantrum about being taken away from his brother, Oz's visitors entered the room. Firstly were his uncle, and his legal guardian. He strolled in casually, grinning at Oz as he dragged in his sister, Ada. She was struggling against their uncle's grip, nervous to see Oz after so long.

Ada hadn't originally been told much about where Oz was going; he was just sent away by Oscar one day. However, after explaining it a few days ago (and after a few break downs), she'd finally come to accept where her older brother had been sent.

On the plus side, Oscar had mentioned something about Gilbert being there, so she was pretty eager to visit.

"Oz! Gil!" Oscar called, laughing as he shuffled over to the pair, "You look well, Oz. And Gil! Long time no see, eh?"

"Um… y-yeh… s-sure…" Gilbert stuttered.

"Oh Gil… there's no need to act so nervous, I just want a quick catch up, that's all," Oscar reassured him, but Gilbert still didn't seem so relaxed, "Shall we go outside? Leave Ada and Oz to themselves for a bit; she's pretty shaken up over all of this."

Gil nodded, standing up and following Oscar outside. Once they had reached the gardens, the two walked around in silence a little before heading to a gazebo and sitting down on the seats inside.

"So, Gil," Oscar started the awkward conversation, pulling out his pack and lighting a cigarette, "How've ya been?"

"Good, I guess…" Gilbert responded tentatively, mimicking Oscar's actions and lighting up himself. He took a long drag, waiting for the nicotine to do its job and calm him down.

"Come on Gil, I know you're lying," commented Oscar, scanning over the other, "You were taken from us by some random guy claiming to be your brother. You didn't bother contacting us for 5 years, you started smoking, and now you've been sent to a recovery institution. Trust me; you're not okay."

"Well… maybe good _isn't_ a very accurate word then…" Gil realised, sticking the cigarette back into his mouth like it was his only lifeline.

"Its okay, Gil…" Oscar told him softly, patting a hand lightly onto his shoulder as a little extra comfort, "Just remember, whatever you do, wherever you go… me, Oz, and Ada; we'll always be proud of you."

Gilbert had no clue how to respond.

"Oh, and speaking of Ada," Oscar continued, "I think she's got a bit of thing for you~!"

…

Meanwhile, the second Ada had sat down with Oz and tried to speak, she had immediately erupted into tears, crying her eyes out onto Oz's shirt.

At first he was shocked, but eventually came to realise that she was just shocked and emotional. After all, it can't have been very easy having your brother taken away for unknown reasons.

"I missed you…" she cried, tears soaking the white fabric of his collar, "I don't want you to change and forget about me!"

"I won't change… Ada," he reassured her quietly, his voice full of comfort and meaning, "You'll always be important to me, no matter what happens."

"But you don't deserve this!" she whined, holding the side of his sleeve and pulling herself up. He stared into her eyes, the large green orbs brimmed with tears. But, underneath that sadness was certainly a layer of hope, "How come you took everything from father?!"

"It doesn't matter," Oz smiled at her and grabbed a tissue, wiping some of her tears away, "I-I'm getting better… I'll be fine."

In another room, Cheryl had arrived to see Rufus, and she was currently listening to him slagging off Miranda.

"Did you tell anyone about me being sent here?" he asked her, scowling at the thought of his cousin telling everyone in the Barma family about the most intelligent child being sent to a rehab, "No, never mind. Ugh, I know it was Miranda. Once she gets a piece of information she can't resist spreading it though that massive gob of hers. I mean seriously, it's almost as big as her tits. No wonder that slag works in strip bar. I am intelligent, and she-"

"Ruf, shut up," Cheryl sighed, leaning her head onto her hand out of exhaustion, "You _were_ the most intelligent member of the Barma household. Everyone expected so much of you. Really, you're lucky I sent you to rehab when I did. Things would've only gotten worse for you if I hadn't."

"Maybe I would've been able to stop snorting cocaine if you'd accepted my proposal…"

"Oh please, Ruf, you're pathetic," Cheryl mocked, "You would've never been able to stop on your own."

….

"Um… Lotti?" Oswald asked as he watched Lotti trail her fingers up Levi's arm. They'd been sitting next to each other on his bed for a while, with Lotti discretely edging closer to Levi every 5 minutes. Only now was Oswald beginning to realise that it was a bit disturbing, "… What are you and Levi doing?"

"Haha, you noticed," Levi smirked, "You're fine, Oswald, we aren't gonna do anything _too_ outrageous with you in the room."

Lotti giggled, moving her leg around Levi's waist as she straddled his hips, "I'm sure you've missed this though, haven't you?"

"Well, yeh, you are a pretty good fuck," Levi joked, shifting under Lotti as he unbuttoned the seal on her cloak and threw it on the floor, leaving her only in the mini skip and crop top, "Not as good as Oswald's sister though, but close enough."

"You are just crude…" Oswald grimaced, "I'm gonna go take a shower, so… do what you want…"

Levi winked at his friend before flipping Lotti over onto the bed and unbuttoning his trousers, "I'm topping."

"Someone needs a good shag then," Lotti flirted, unhooking her own bra, "I'll make sure you get what you need."

Oswald had managed to block out the sounds of the two of them doing it as he turned the shower on and stripped down. Before getting in, he looked at himself in the mirror, noting how much worse he felt ever since arriving and seeing _that_ particular person. He faced downwards and sighed heavily.

"I wonder when Jack will realise that I'm the one who killed his girlfriend…"

….

The last person awaiting their visitor was Break, who was still sitting anxiously. People had begun arriving about an hour ago, but he knew that his friend has a busy schedule, always working extra hard at the company he managed.

As much as he hated to admit it, the wait only made him more nervous.

Just as he was about the get up and go somewhere else, Break turned around to hear the door opening. It was shut quite calmly, almost as if the person entering wanting to avoid making any disturbances. Without even being able to see who it was, he knew instantly that it was the man he was expecting.

"Xerxes," he said firmly, but there was also a hint of concern concealed in his voice, "… Where are we going?"

"All the rooms are open," Break replied, avoiding all eye contact. He honestly felt about 5 minutes away from breaking down, "My therapy room is open, I think."

The brunette nodded, following Break as he led them out of the entry room and gestured to a small room a few doors down the corridor. They entered the room, Break sitting on the therapy lounger and looking up at his friend.

"Reim, you're allowed to sit down, you know," he said mockingly, pointing to the open space in front of him, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I can't promise to answer any of them."

"Xerx, you idiot," Reim shook his head, slowly placing himself next to Break, "This is why you led yourself to have such a problem. You never admit it or talk about it when there's something wrong."

"That's because I didn't want to do anything about it," Break admitted.

"Whatever," Reim rolled his eyes, trying to change the topic, "So how has it been?"

"Alright," Break lied, knowing that Reim wasn't buying it for even a second.

Reim furrowed his eye brows, but didn't interrogate him, "How was withdrawal? You mentioned to me that was what you were more terrified of."

"Withdrawal is a different story… It is really bad. The overdose made it worse, I think. I collapsed at one point."

"So you regret getting addicted?" Reim asked.

Break froze for a second before murmuring a reply, "No… not really…"

"Huh?"

"It's hard, Reim… it really is."

Reim sighed sympathetically, "Xerx, don't forget that I'm so proud of you for doing this for me."

A few moments passed, and the room was still filled with a deafening, eerie silence. The only movement came from Break, who pulled his legs up to his chest and buried his face into them. Shortly after, Reim heard a few muffled sobs, and looked to his side to notice Break shaking, his frail body trembling violently.

"Xerxes… what happened?" Reim questioned, not sure what to do. Break looked up, tears rolling out of his right eye, which was blinded even further by the brimming tears. He smiled faintly, although all that Reim could see was pain and desperation.

"T-this is too hard… I'm struggling… so much," he admitted, his voice alarmingly shaky, "I don't regret it… H was always there. I can't sleep, I can't eat properly. I'm just continuously haunted by memories. I want to forget them… I want to go back…"

"You're not doing that! Don't be stupid!" Reim shouted, "You may think it was good for you, and that you didn't need help, but how do you think I felt? Watching my best friend destroying his life every single day is not something I wanted to experience! I watched you ruin your life. I persuaded you day after day to go to rehab. How is it that you only listened to me when you almost died?"

"Maybe that was the only point I realised it was a problem."

"So don't go back!" Reim cried, "Xerx, I'm begging you. I don't want this for you. You deserve better than being controlled by the strings of an addiction-"

"Shut up…" Break panted, watching his tears pool on the sofa and his sleeves, "It's not as easy as it looks. I just want someone to bring me a needle and some heroin so I can get my fix and just fucking forget everything!..." His breathing was ragged as he tried to calm himself, "… fuck… I don't want to do this anymore. It's too much… I-I… I need it too much…"

Reim didn't know how to respond. He didn't know how to get through to him.

"You're a better person now, Xerx. You're more honest because… you've got nothing to hide anymore."

"… I know that. I know I need help, too. Fuck, I want this help. It's just… too much."

"You're going to be okay. Everyone is struggling here," Reim smiled softly at him, "Next time when I see you, you're going to be glad you did this. And believe me, everyone here is doing everything in their power to make sure you never want to shoot heroin up your veins again."

"Okay… I-I'll try…" Break sighed, calming down finally. He was still struggling like hell, obviously, but he had a new reason to try, "… Thank you, Reim… I really needed that…"


	13. Chapter 13: Where did it all go wrong?

**_(A/Ns: Here we are with chapter 13. This is mainly Gil and Vincent, but the chapter refocuses on the story line at the end with Jack (sorry about the cliff hanger btw :3) There will be important A/Ns at the end of this chapter which explain some stuff to do with Jack's PTSD._**

 ** _To all my reviewers: Thank you to everyone who decided to review on the last chapter. I can't even begin to express how much it means to me that people really enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. I love every single one of you so thank you very much. Another thing which I am asked a lot is whether I research addiction and mental illnesses. I do a lot of research for this fanfiction, but I love it, as I think addiction etc are very interesting. Finally, if you enjoy reading about this sort of thing/like my Pandora hearts writing, then I am currently writing chapter two of To Forget, which is on my profile as a non-AU story of addict!Break._**

 ** _To anyone else reading, please review and let me know what you think. It makes me so happy to hear from you guys._**

 ** _Trigger warnings: suicide, swearing_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Thirteen: Where did it all go wrong?~**

"Hey! Gil!" Oz called, racing through the gardens of the centre in search of his friend. It was evening now, and all of the visitors had been forced to leave. After a few more minutes, Oz found Gilbert leaning against a white gazebo placed precariously next to a tree, which sheltered the secluded area. His friend stood nonchalantly, a cigarette burning away in his mouth as he stared at the floor coldly, "There you are!" he yelled, hopping over to the other, "Did you talk to Oscar?"

Gilbert looked up suddenly, the cigarette falling from his mouth as he jumped, "Oh! Oz… yeh… How was Ada?"

"She cried a lot…" Oz admitted, "I still don't think she can believe that her role model older brother has been put in a place like this."

"Well… none of us _really_ understand yet why you're in here," Gilbert said, almost close to smiling at the boy, "You always seem so… innocent. You don't deserve to be put in a situation like this."

"Hehe… the voices in my head would probably disagree."

Stunned at his statement, Gil didn't notice as Oz skipped away. Just as he pulled out a new cigarette to smoke, the raven abruptly remembered Rule no. 1 he'd mentally put in place when he joined:

Don't leave Oz alone with Vincent under any circumstances.

Dropping the cigarette absentmindedly, Gil dashed away from the gazebo, running back towards the centre and heading straight for their room.

Meanwhile, Oz had wandered off, and was currently strolling down the corridor to the dorm. He was worried that he may have upset Gil, but he didn't want to talk about _those_ things. It was too painful to think about where the hell everything went so wrong. After a little more time, Oz reached the door and clicked it open, and without a second of hesitation, stepped inside.

The room was pitch black, expect for a few dimply lit candles, with the flame fluttering in the eerie silence which sat in the atmosphere. It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the new lighting levels, but after they had, he could clearly see the mutilated dolls scattered across the floor and Vincent's bed. There were body parts cut off, with the stuffing having been ripped out and disregarded onto the floor.

Out of the corner of his eye, Oz noticed a one of the candle lights being reflected off of something shiny. His vision travelled to Vincent's bunk, where, sure enough, the older blonde was located. He was sitting cross legged, back against the wall as the pair of metallic scissors in his hands shredded through the dolls.

Just a few seconds after, Gil came running into the room, panting restlessly as he looked up at saw his brother, dismembering the toys.

He face palmed, "Vince… where the hell did you get those dolls from? And the scissors, for that matter?"

Vincent's attention piqued, and he smiled manically at his brother as clambered down from the bunk and stood in front of him, "Nii-san, you're here!" he cheered, the scissors violently ripping through the stuffed rabbit's ears, "How were things with the man who took you away from me?"

Gilbert sighed deeply, "Vince… I thought they were going to keep you away from scissors. You go insane when you have them. Well, more insane than usual, at least."

"Aw, Gil, you haven't figured it out yet?" Vincent patronised, and then dropped the destroyed toy whilst turning around and facing the chair, "Echo?"

All of a sudden, a young girl with short, white hair wearing a blue jumper and white shorts appeared from behind the chair, her mutual expression staring straight at Vincent obediently with grey, emotionless eyes, "Echo is here," she said monotonously.

"Who is that?" Oz asked, raising an eyebrow, "And where did she come from?"

Gil frowned, "That's Echo… Vince's foster sister. Although, from what I've seen, he basically treats her like a servant. I'm… guessing that's where the scissors came from."

"Echo was requested to bring stuffed toys and scissors, so Echo did as told," she told them, no hint of emotion in her voice whatsoever.

Gilbert and Oz both faced each other briefly, exchanging looks of confusion before refocusing their gaze back to the strange pair. An awkward silence weighted the room, holding them where they were and stopping anyone from speaking a word.

Vincent was the only one who continued to move, ripping the stuffed toy in half and throwing the stuffing upwards and letting it fall as if it were snow. His brother shook his head, breathing heavily once again and sitting down on the bed. He buried his face into his hands, elbows resting on his knees, shielding Vince from his view.

Oz just stood still, waiting for someone to very conveniently come along and save him from this insanity. Fortunately, around that moment, the door swung open, revealing Jack, who stood staring in awe at the sight before him. To him, it looked like something out of a horror movie.

He expressed judgemental face before raising an eyebrow submissively and turning on his heel out of the room. Oz watched this happen before finally realising that it was him who had to break the tension, since Echo did everything Vincent said, and Gil was currently having a mini breakdown.

"So, Echo-chan-"

"It's just Echo," she corrected stubbornly.

"Well, Echo, shall we leave them to themselves for a bit…?" he suggested, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Echo only takes orders from Vincent," the girl replied apathetically.

"… um…" Oz was stuck for words, "Vincent! How would you like to spend some quality time with Gil, hm? Sort things out eh?"

Vincent's face lit up as he dropped the remainders of the doll onto the carpet, "Anything for Nii-san!"

"You heard that, Echo-chan!" Oz cheered, overjoyed. He took Echo by the hand, pulling her out the door and into the relaxation room, where thankfully, no one else was around.

"It's just Echo," she corrected once again, frowning slightly along with the tiny hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Sorry, I forgot," Oz smiled, "So… if you don't mind me asking, what's it like living with Vincent?"

"Echo does not hold any opinions."

"It doesn't matter what you tell me," the blonde tried to reassure her, "I won't tell Gil or Vincent anything."

"Echo does not hold any opinions."

"… You've already said that, and I know you're lying."

"…"

Oz sighed, "You _must_ be irritated by him sometimes, right?"

"Well, if you must know…" Echo responded quietly, almost as if she wasn't allowed to say what she intended on saying, "Sometimes… Vincent can be a bit of a… _pain_."

"In what ways?"

Oz watched as Echo's irritation grew at the thought of Vincent, "Well… he always tells me off if I do something he doesn't like. Whenever he cuts up dolls he leaves a mess and then says that I'm not allowed to go into his room, but if I don't clean all the stuffing up I get told off. And, I don't like how he neglects me for his brother all the time, like I'm his last resort or something." She was fuming by this point, "Finally… he becomes almost a completely different person the second you hand him something sharp and he goes on a sadistic rampage."

"… Well that makes sense," Oz chimed, "Now I can see why Gil didn't want to leave me alone with his psycho brother!"

….

Back in their dorm, Vincent had begun cutting up one of the last dolls which Echo had delivered to him today. He took to the scissors, sliding the blades through the toy's neck and jerking the head off. The white stuffing poured out onto the floor beside his feet, and he smiled manically before throwing both parts to the toy into the air, "What's wrong, Gil?"

"Ugh… Vince…" Gilbert sighed, burying his head deeper into his hands.

Only at that point did it register with Vincent that he may have upset Gil, "What can I do to make you happy? That's all I want…"

Gilbert jerked his head up, glaring miserably at him, "What can you do?"

"Yes. I want you to be happy."

"Well then," Gilbert began yelling, standing up angrily and storming over to his little brother, who was standing across from him as innocently as a person mutilating dolls could be. He cupped a hand around the blonde's neck, slamming him backwards into the bunk bed and locking him right where he was, "You wonna know what'll make me happy?"

Vincent nodded, struggling to protest under Gil's strangely powerful grip.

The raven's head move only inches away from Vincent's face as he yelled, "GET YOUR PERSONAL LIFE IN ORDER! QUIT HACKING UP DOLLS! DON'T GO OUT ALL NIGHT TO MYSTERIOUS PLACES AND THEN REFUSE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU WERE GONE SO LONG! STOP TREATING EVERYONE LIKE SHIT WHO ISN'T ME! AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, QUIT ASKING WHAT'LL MAKE ME HAPPY WHEN IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT I'M SO DEPRESSED!"

After his outrage, Gilbert released his brother immediately, letting the other drop as he staggered backwards panting. Vincent just stared wide eyed at his brother, trying to register the many things screamed at him during that short yet sharp confrontation.

Did his brother really hate him that much? After everything they'd done?

Of course, Gil wouldn't remember any of that.

"Sorry… I was just…" Gilbert breathed fast, refusing to make eye contact, "I-I'm going outside."

The blonde watched as Gil wandered away, hesitating slightly before opening the door and slamming it shut behind him. He looked around the room sadly at the disfigured dolls, wondering where the hell things went so wrong.

"It's my fault… that my brother is so suicidal," he said, regretfully to himself.

….

"… no?" Oz asked, staring hard and trying to study Echo's facial expression. No hint of amusement whatsoever, "Never mind then…"

For the past 10 minutes or so, Oz had been trying to get Echo to smile, finding it slightly concerning that she acted more depressed than Gil. It was failing miserably.

All of sudden, Oz heard the door slam behind him, he and Echo both turning their heads to look who had entered the room so aggressively. They watched as Gilbert stomped straight through the room, not even bothering to register their existence as he turned the handle on the door to the gardens and walked outside. The two watch as he leaned against the window, pulling out a cigarette and taking a long drag after he had lit it with shaking hands.

"Um... I think Gil is upset about something…" Oz stated pointlessly.

"Even Echo realised that."

"…"

"It is probably Vincent's fault," Echo told Oz, at which point he begun listening intently, "Echo always watched when Vincent upset Gilbert. Whenever Echo did something wrong or Vincent did something bad, Vincent took it out on Gilbert. Gilbert never usually retaliated, though."

"Well-"

Oz's response was cut off by the door opening once again, revealing Sharon.

"Oh, Echo, sorry but all visitors need to leave now," she informed her, seemingly apologetically, "Vincent has been taken into Lacie's therapy room. He's not doing too great right now, I must say."

Echo nodded, obediently standing up and leaving without saying goodbye to anyone. Oz was fascinated by her, and honestly wished to see her again at some point.

"Do you know where Gilbert is?" Sharon asked.

"Oh… yeh… he's outside smoking."

"Oh jeez…" Sharon face palmed. Oz had no idea was going on, but clearly something had happened when he was gone.

…

A few hours passed since the incident, and Oz and Jack were heading back to their dorm.

After Sharon had taken Gilbert back to the therapy room, Oz and had wandered off to find Jack, and soon after located him in the library. They spent some time reading, with Oz rambling endlessly about Holy Night, before it got dark outside and they decided to go back to check on Vincent and Gilbert.

It was almost 11pm now, and they expected both brothers to be asleep.

"So, what actually happened earlier?" Jack questioned.

"Oh… Gil walked in on Vincent cutting up dolls, and then I left with Echo… Honestly, I don't really know what happened after that."

Jack nodded, knocking quietly on the door. Shortly after, the door was answered by Gilbert, who whispered, "Hello," to them before directing them into the dark room. He shushed, pointing up towards Vincent, who was sleeping soundly on his bunk.

"You guys calmed down now then?" Oz whispered, climbing up into his own bunk before changing his clothes underneath the sheets.

"Lacie took him into therapy room and effectively drugged him," Gilbert explained, and then shifted awkwardly where he was standing before "As for me, well… I'm as good as I'll ever be in a place like this."

Considering his friend suffered from severe depression, Oz failed to believe that his friend was 'good', but decided to drop the subject as he laid down under the cover and slept, hoping that they'd have at least one peaceful night.

…..

He was wrong.

At around 2am, Oz woke up to the sounds of crying. He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Initially, he presumed it was Gil, who was the biggest cry baby he knew. But why would he be crying in the middle of the night? Oz peered down to Gil's bed, seeing the black haired man leaning on his elbow as he watched Jack.

"Is that Jack?" Oz asked, almost inaudibly.

Gilbert nodded, "He's been like this for a couple minutes."

"What's happening?"

"I don't know."

Concerned, the blonde clambered down from his bunk and sat on the mattress at the end of Jack's bed, about half a metre away from where his knees were curled up and held tightly against his chest. As he got closer, Oz could see how much he was trembling. He also noted the wetness pooled around his thighs, making that the third time this week it had happened.

"He's had one of his accidents again…" Oz told Gil, at which the other stood up, walking over to the two of them and crouching down beside Jack's bed.

"These sleeping pills really aren't helping," Gilbert observed, "He can't wake up even if he wets the bed."

Oz placed a hand on the side of his hip, lightly shaking him in an attempt to wake him up, "Jack. Please, wake up."

A few seconds later, Jack began to stir, and the tears stopped falling from his eyes. After a little while, he was fully awake, panting heavily as he sat up and leaned against the post behind the bottom bunk. He tried to contemplate what had happened, feeling the wetness around both his eyes and sheets. Looking up, he could also see Gilbert and Oz sitting beside him with concerned expressions.

"What happened?" Jack questioned, his voice hoarse. He looked down and sniffed, "Oh… right… sorry."

"Its fine," Oz reassured him, about to help him up to change.

All of a sudden, just before he took Oz's hand, a sharp pain spread across Jack's forehead. He flinched, pulling back his hands and pressing down hard into his temples.

"Ah… fuck…" he whispered, eyes widening as several images flashed right in front of his eyes.

Except, these were images he'd never seen before.

He could see his dead girlfriend, lying on the floor and covered in blood like usual. This time, however, he looked across the room and saw a silhouette escaping out through the window. Soon after, he saw the same person standing in front of him… in the recovery centre.

"Jack? What is this?" Oz tried to get through to his, but those bright green orbs were possessed by other images. Suddenly, Jack gasped, placing a hand over his mouth as he threw up onto his bed.

Jack heaved once again before panting, "I saw them…"

"Saw who?"

"The killer… I don't know who they are but… they're here…"

Oz and Gil exchanged confused gazes before looking to Jack, who continued.

"The person who killed my girlfriend… he's in this recovery centre…"

 ** _(A/Ns: So, if you haven't gathered it already yet, Jack did see who the murderer was. However, because of the PTSD, his mind had effectively erased the memory from itself. I got the idea for this from my psychology lessons, and I know that sometimes this can happen after extremely traumatic events. Although, over time, these memories will come back, so that is what's happening now. Till next time! ~ TheDarkSidesofAnime)_**


	14. Chapter 14: Room Change

_**(A/Ns: 6 days and I am back! This was so fun to write, not gonna lie. But at the same time, there is some emotional stuff thrown in there. I think I agree with you guys when you mentioned the contrast of comedy to depressing-ness. This chapter is mainly Oz and Elliot, with a little bit of Leo. Oh, and yes; I truly believe that Oz would say something like "pretending-to-be-okay-ness" I can literally hear him saying it. I hope to get one more chapter in before the Christmas chapter, which I'll write before but upload on Christmas day!**_

 _ **Please review! I already know that there's a few people following, but if anyone else if reading i'd love to know what you think!**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: eating disorders, medication, some sexual scenes/references**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Fourteen: Room Change~**

"Nhn… Elliot… n-not there…" Leo grunted, shifting slightly underneath Elliot's weight.

"Oh, sorry," the blonde apologised, moving himself to the left a little so that he was not straddling the others hip bones, but just below on his thighs instead. He smiled down at Leo, placing his lips back onto his and thrusting his tongue back into the other's mouth. Leo chuckled a little, biting Elliot's lower lip teasingly as he brought a hand up and scrunched in in Elliot's hair.

All of a sudden, Elliot and Leo both heard the door click and open. Leo's eyes widened as he saw Lacie and another patient step inside the room, hastily shoving Elliot off of his lap, who collapsed back onto the bed next to him and tried to act natural.

Considering both boys were panting, with their faces bright red, they were failing to act casual.

After a few seconds, Elliot and Leo had regained their composure, and they looked up to see the two adults standing there. Lacie, who just raised her eyebrows, seemed rather unfazed by walking in on them making out. However, the other boy was blushing even more than Leo and Elliot, and looked as though he were about to have a nosebleed.

"Well then…" Lacie broke the silence, her arms still crossed over judgementally "Leo, Elliot; this is Oz. He's 18. Before I explain the situation, may I speak to Leo outside for a second?"

Leo looked up hesitantly for a bit, before slowly standing up and glancing at Elliot before following Lacie out of the room. She shut the door behind them, leaning on the wall and facing Leo.

"Okay," Lacie began, "Sharon told me of the incident a few days ago, and we've been told to closely monitor you, since it's obvious that you aren't cooperating with the help we're offering you."

Leo nodded, wondering where this was going.

"Now, as of now, you're going to be temporarily switching rooms. There are two reasons for this," she explained, closely watching the sudden distressed look on Leo's face, "Firstly, the room you're switching with will have 4 people instead of two, which means you'll have more people closely watching you and supporting you. They've all been told everything. Secondly, you may or may not have been told yet, but Elliot was sent to this centre because his parents thought that he suffered from separation anxiety, which means he suffers from panic attacks when he's not around someone he trusts. His therapist is rather concerned that he may have become attached to you, which completely defeats the point of him being here. So, to make sure everything is ok, we're going to switch your room for a few days."

"… A-Am I still on that diet plan?" Leo asked quietly, pretty much ignoring what Lacie had explained.

"Yes, you are. Oh, and that's another thing," she said, lowering her voice so that the people inside the room couldn't hear, "Can you tell me, honestly, whether you've purged since the incident a few nights ago?"

"…"

"Leo, the room change will be permanent if you don't answer me with the truth."

"… Yes," he whimpered, shielding his face from her view.

She sighed, realising that he was going to be difficult to cooperate with, even with the extra support, "How many times and when?"

"Um… most nights… when Elliot is asleep…"

"Well, we'll deal with this another time; I need to break the news to Elliot."

"C-can you not tell Elliot about me… purging?" Leo requested, almost inaudibly, "… I promised him I wouldn't, but…"

"I won't tell him about any of that," Lacie smiled down at him, opening the door and letting him back into the room. A second later, she pulled Elliot outside, facing him as she leaning back against the door, "Leo's moving room."

"What?!" Elliot yelled in outrage, "Where is this coming from?"

"Well, to explain it bluntly, he needs extra monitoring for his eating disorders and diet plan, which is why he's moving to a room with 4 people. As for you, your therapist seems to be concerned that you've become overly dependent on Leo because of your separation anxiety."

Elliot scoffed, "Tch. Bullshit."

"Language," she warned, "Anyway, it's just a precaution. It's only temporary, and he'll most likely move back in with you in a few days. We just need to get a better analysis of both your and his behaviour, and the only way to do that is to separate the two of you."

"Ugh, that's so shit," Elliot cursed, "So this 'Oz' kid is going to be my new roommate?"

"Yes."

"Damn it."

…..

After a little more explaining to Oz, Leo and Elliot, Leo finally left the room and was taken to the other room. Once he arrived with all of his stuff, he was welcomed by three people who he'd never really interacted with before, called Gilbert, Vincent and Jack.

Of course, Leo being Leo, he refused to speak to any of them, and simply flopped down onto his bed and buried his face in a book.

Meanwhile in their room, Oz was attempting to make small talk with Elliot.

It wasn't very successful.

"So…" Oz tried again, hoping to learn a little about his new roommate's interests, "What kind of music do you like?"

"I don't really listen to music," Elliot deadpanned.

"Oh… Do you play any instruments?"

"Piano."

"Nice…"

Elliot sighed at Oz's pathetic attempt to make conversation, simply reaching over to his night stand and retrieving a book. He opened it to the last page he was on, the cover of the book barely visible.

"Hey," Oz called after a minute or so of silence, "Is that Holy Knight?"

"Yeh, what of it?" Elliot retorted.

"Ahh!" Oz's eyes lit up, "I loooovvvvvvveeeeee Holy Knight! It's my favourite series ever!"

"Good for you," Elliot replied, but this time he seemed slightly more intrigued, "Who's your favourite character?"

"Oh myyy!~ I love Edgar! His consideration for others and selflessness is just admirable, and he always puts himself before others!"

Elliot screwed his face up gradually throughout Oz's character analysis before grunting, "No offense but, trash fans of Edgar like you just make me want to puke!"

Oz stared at the other in astonishment, "W-what?"

"Firstly, there's the irritating dedication to his master, which always got the both them in dangerous situations! Then, there's that self-sacrificial non-sense where he always acts like the last priority in everything. He never values his own life and those who care about him always get hurt when he pulls some random bullshit! And finally, there's the stupid fact that when he died, he did it protecting his master! He gave his own fucking life to keep his master alive! Seriously, Edgar is just trash- Oz? What…?"

Elliot had halted his speech when he noticed Oz's eyes widen dramatically, his mouth hanging open, "E-E-Edgar… dies…?"

"What?" Elliot threw him a bemused look, "It happened at the end of volume 17! How could you, as a fan, not know that?"

"Ah! Shut up!" Oz whined, "I don't get to read it often! I was only up to volume 8!"

"Well… as a fan, I just presumed you read it."

"Yeh but….! Call spoiler alert next time you do something like that!"

"What?! You can't possibly blame this on me! It's your own fault if you're a slow reader!"

"Ahhhhh!" Oz collapsed onto his bed, "Well, that's just ruined Holy Knight for me!"

"Well, there's a lot that happens after Edgar's life regarding Edwin-"

"NOOOO!" Oz yelled protectively, flailing his arms around in the air, "Don't tell me anymore!"

"Whatever. People who like trash like Edgar don't matter anyway…" Elliot muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately, Oz still heard him, and sat up on his bed, "I'm just curious… why do you hate Edgar so much? I mean… most readers prefer him to Edwin, but…"

Elliot shifted uncomfortably, "People… who don't value their own lives, should not have the right to protect anyone…"

The room promptly fell into an awkward silence, Oz sensing that he may have asked a question which pried for too much information. Nevertheless, he dismissed it, hoping that Elliot's soreness would die over time.

…..

He was very wrong.

The afternoon continued throughout the thick silence, neither saying a word, despite both being taken away to various therapy rooms multiple times.

At around dinner time, Oz returned to their room to find Elliot sitting on the bed, uncertainty spread across his face as he stared down at something small between his hands.

"Um… are… you okay?" Oz asked hesitantly, aware of how bitter the other blonde was as he slowly approaching him, "What is that?"

Elliot jumped at the sound of Oz's voice, "Oh… right… It's nothing."

Oz raised an eyebrow, noting how panicked Elliot looked. He glanced down, only then noticing that he was shaking, "It's not _nothing,_ " Oz intervened, "You're shaking. Stop pretending to be okay! I already had to deal with Gil's moping and Jack's pretending-to-be-okay-ness. Not you!"

"It's none of your business," Elliot groaned, but was internally embarrassed that Oz had noticed how nervous he seemed.

"Ahhh!" Oz whined, sitting down on the bed next to Elliot. Just as he sat down, he noticed as Elliot's eyes widened slightly as he laughed through his nose, but he decided to dismiss it, continuing on with what he was saying, "Now, tell me what is wrong."

Elliot sighed, realising that he simply didn't have the willpower to argue at the moment; his anxiety was eating him alive, "W-when I went to therapy, t-they gave me Xanax… and told me to take it. Because… _apparently,_ I-I'm not getting better."

"Oh… And you don't want to take it?"

Elliot shook his head, breathing deeply and burying his face in his hands.

"If you don't mind me asking… why don't you want to take them?"

"Because… once I take them, it declares me as truly mentally sick… I-I… I refuse to accept that."

"You're just being stubborn," Oz smiled, trying to make the slightly offensive comment seem like some form of help, "I don't know who it is that you're stressing over right now, but I can tell your anxiety is really getting to you. If you take the medication, I bet you'll feel better."

Elliot sighed in defeat, "It's… Leo."

"Oh… in what way are you concerned?"

"Well… I can't keep any eye on him. I'm worried he'll continue purging, and it'll kill him… I miss him."

"I'm sure he's fine," Oz said soothingly, before his lips twitched into a sadistic smile, "If Gil doesn't look after him properly, he'll have hell to pay…"

"Right…" Elliot stared at the other, tossing the unopened box of Xanax aside, "I'll get through this bullshit on my own."

"You sure?"

"Yeh… I'll be fine."

"Heard that one too many times…" Oz muttered under his breath, "So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is Leo to you?"

Elliot felt himself blush as he looked away, "What… what do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Oz could also sense his face heating up as he spoke, "When we walked in, the two of you were… well, kinda making out."

"Yeh, and?" Elliot retorted bitterly, but could already detect straight where this conversation was heading.

"It's just… a bit shocking to walk into… I mean, it was two guys on top of e-each other-"

"What difference does it make that we're gay?!" Elliot blurted out, blushing madly once he'd realised what he'd just shouted.

"N-n-no! No that's not what I meant!" Oz's arms flailed around madly, "I-it would be just as weird if it were a guy and a girl! It's just… you're 16… and you were making out pretty intensely…"

"Tch… yeh… so?"

"I just wanted to know what he is to you," Oz explained, "Are you going out or what?"

"Um… w-we haven't really talked about that…" Elliot admitted, still burning up.

"Well… how did it become that way?"

"I saw his eyes one day… his personality was so demanding, I thought he was cute in some weird way," Elliot grabbed a pillow from the end of the bed, holding it over his crotch, "… He told me he was gay, I knew I'd at least been bisexual for a while… and I guess it went from there…"

Oz panicked a little when he saw how Elliot had hastily concealed his jeans, but brushed it off as he asked, "So wait… when we walked in, what was all that about?"

"We usually just get busy when the time is right… or when we're bored. This morning we were just bored, I guess."

Oz raised an eyebrow quizzically, "And what exactly do you mean by 'get busy'?"

The other started blushing again, his cheeks tinted redder than before. He briefly questioned why he was telling Oz all of this, but then realised that just talking about Leo made him slightly calmer… and aroused, "U-usually just making out and stuff…"

"Oh right… good," Oz chuckled, slightly relieved, "At least you haven't had sex…"

At the mention of intercourse, Elliot's entire face turned crimson, and his eyes doubled in size. His mind flashed back to being on top of Leo a couple of weeks ago, and he glanced down at the pillow and pressed down harder in order to conceal his arousal, "Um… yeh… a-a-about that…"

Oz's eyes expanded wider than Elliot's at the revelation, "Wait… huh?! What?! The… t-the two of you… had…"

"Yeh…"

Elliot chuckled slightly at the look of utter disgust on Oz's face. Oz, on the other hand, could barely move as he felt blood trickle out of his nose. He gasped, lifting a hand to his nose and stared at Elliot, "Huh?!"

"Relax, it was only once," Elliot defended, and then stood up, turning his back to Oz instantly as he headed towards the bathroom. Just before he walked inside, he smirked, turning around to face the still frozen Oz. He figured he could freak him out just once more before sorting himself out, "Oh, and, P.S… I was on top."

Oz couldn't stop himself from letting out an involuntary squeal as he heard the door slam, resting his face in his hands as he sighed, "Ugh… where's Gil when I need him?"

….

Three days had passed since the room change, and the nurses had already given up.

"They're impossible," Lacie groaned, leaning against the wall in Sharon's office, "We're going to have to change them back."

"Why?" Sharon asked.

"Well, Elliot seems to have somehow mentally scarred Oz," Lacie explained, the sarcasm in her voice obvious, "And according to Jack, Leo's been purging every single night when he thinks they're all asleep."

"And you think this will have a good impact on Elliot?"

"I asked Oz, and he said Elliot had eventually given in and taken the Xanax right before he was about to have a panic attack. Or at least, that's what Oz told me. As for Leo, we can always go to the last resort."

"Marinol?" Sharon confirmed, sorting through the medication cabinet and pulling out the pills, "Okay, you go break the news."

Lacie took the small box, nodded and exited the room.

Once she arrived at Elliot's room, she clicked the lock open, grabbing Oz and his stuff and heading down to his old room where Leo currently was. The second they'd left the room, Lacie noticed as Oz let out a large sigh of relief, but decided against questioning it.

She knocked on the guys' room, letting Oz in and grabbing all of their attention.

"Okay, Leo," she began, grabbing the bag of clothes which hadn't even been unpacked, "You're coming with me. Bring your stuff; you're going back to Elliot."

Leo leapt up instantly, grabbing the bag and racing down the corridor. However, once he reached Elliot's room, he felt Lacie grab his wrist.

"Leo," she said sternly, "I need to talk to you before you go back in there."

The noirette gulping, slowly nodding as he leant against the wall.

She continued, "Jack has told me about you purging every night. Leo, you need to understand that if you don't stop, you will end up killing yourself."

Leo sniffed, nodding acceptingly as a single tear rolled down his face, "I-I'm trying… to stop."

"Good. Now we're going to help you," Lacie told him, pulling out the box of medication from her pocket, "This is Marinol. Usually, it's used to treat patients who are receiving chemotherapy, as it stops nausea and makes it difficult to vomit. Now, in your situation, it'll make it very difficult and painful for you to make yourself sick. Also, it's an appetite stimulant as well, meaning you'll be in a lot of pain if you don't eat."

Leo hesitated for a bit, before taking the box and walking back into the room. The second he walked inside, his wrist was pulled against the wall by Elliot, who held him tight against the plasterboard before smirking, and shoving him back against the bed.

"Woah, someone's eager," Leo teased, discretely placing the pills in his pocket.

"Hm, I've been bored for 3 days, so you've got a lot of time to make up for by entertaining me."

Leo giggled, pulling Elliot's head down towards his, happily allowing Elliot's tongue to brush past his.

Meanwhile, outside of the room, Lacie was still leaning against the door, ear pressed against the wood as she listened to the two of them. She laughed a little, walking away and shaking her head, "Now I think I understand why Oz was so disturbed after spending 3 days in that room…"

 ** _(A/Ns: Who else could physically feel Oz's awkwardness in that middle scene? And, if any of you have the same dirty mind as me, you'll know what Elliot went to do in the bathroom after their conversation ;D)_**


	15. Chapter 15: Aversion

**_(A/Ns: I updated quickly, cause I've finished school! Whoop whoop! Anyway, this chapter discusses Aversion therapy, which is well enough explained. Usually, aversion therapy is not used as extremely as this, but in some recovery centres, they will experiment on people with things like this, where other psychological studies will support these theories. I did a lot of research for this chapter if I'm honest. Also, just because I used this method in my ff does NOT mean I support aversion therapy; personally I think of it to be quite unethical. Anyway, some hints to future chapters dropped here, and Lacie gets the last line again! Finally, if you wanted to know more about the effects of drugs, here we go!_**

 ** _Trigger warnings: detailed drug mentions explained, lots of swearing._**

 ** _Please continue to review! Also, I plan to write a Christmas chapter and upload it on Christmas day which involves all of the characters. But i'd have to write it tomorrow or Saturday. At the moment, I have no idea what to include. If you are one of the people who has been following, please give me ideas? I would greatly appreciate hearing from you again!_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters._**

 **~Chapter Fifteen: Aversion~**

"Wait… you did _what_ in here?" Rufus asked, screwing his face up in disgust.

"Don't get so worked up over it," Levi smirked, kicking his legs up onto the bed and leaning against the head board, "It was only on my bed, so why should it matter?"

"This doesn't usually happen, but I agree with Rufus," Break pointed out, "It's sorta gross to think about. By the looks of things, you're a sex addict too~"

"You weren't in the room next to them…" Oswald muttered under his breath.

Levi started laughing again, "Hey, Oswald? You were in the shower when we were doing it, right?"

"Yeh, and?"

"Well, what were _you_ doing in there?"

"… shut up, Levi…"

The four of them conversed for a little longer, before they were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Before any of them could answer it, the door clicked open, and Lacie walked in, "Good afternoon."

"Hello," they all greeted at the same time.

"Okay, so, we're starting a new method of group therapy today. It's called Aversion Therapy, although it has been slightly modified to suit your individual needs. Firstly though, can I speak to Rufus on his own first?"

"Sure," the red head nodded, hopping off of the bed and following Lacie out of the room, "What is it?"

"Okay. Firstly, do you know what Aversion Therapy is?" she asked.

"Of course I do," he replied arrogantly, "It's like the therapy version of negative reinforcement. You associate a stimulus with discomfort."

"Meh, close enough. Do you know what it's used for?"

"To stop us from doing drugs."

"Sort of," Lacie answered, "This time, we've developed it to prevent the four of you from relapsing. There are three stages of relapse; emotional, mental and physical. As you know, both Levi and Oswald have manged all three since coming here. You and Break haven't reached the last stage, but we can tell that you've at least reached the first stage."

"That's not true," Rufus denied.

"You don't even know what each stage consists of."

"I don't care. I'm not going back to drugs."

"You're only furthering my point by showing me bad attitude, so shut up and listen," Lacie said sternly, replacing the papers on her clipboard to match his name, "Emotional relapse is where you are not even thinking about using. But, you act irritable, your mood fluctuates, and this will eventually lead to thoughts of use, and then relapse. If you're thinking about using that's fine. Statistically, more users will relapse than won't. So tell me honestly, Rufus; have you had any thoughts or desire to use cocaine ever since finishing the acute withdrawal?"

"No."

"You're lying. I'm not stupid."

"Nope."

"Stop being stubborn."

Rufus sighed, realising this could go on forever unless he told the truth, "Fine. Yes, I have."

"Thank you," exhaled Lacie, "How often, and what do you think about?"

"Only occasionally. If I'm bored it reminds me why I used in the first place, and that brings on little cravings. But they don't last that long."

"Ok, so you're only just beginning the mental stage…" she muttered to herself, jotting down a few brief notes onto her clipboard before looking back up to him, "Thankfully, you're still at the stage where we can help you. Your cravings will get stronger eventually, but that can be stopped. That will be all."

Rufus nodded, scowling slightly as he walked back into the room whilst Lacie pulled Break outside. She shut the door behind them, changing the papers on her clipboard to his notes.

"As you know, you're the person in that room who was an addict for the longest. That means that you are the most likely to be struggling with thoughts of relapse," Lacie explained. Break simply stood opposite her, arms crossed over his chest with a sad smile spread across his face. She continued, "Last week when the visitors came, am I correct in thinking Reim came to see you?"

Break nodded, turning his head and facing the opposite wall.

"Afterwards, he asked to speak to us, and mentioned that were you having great difficulty with thoughts of relapse. Can you elaborate?"

"Nhn. I never asked him to do that… I'm capable of doing this on my own," Break told her, his tone more aggressive than usual, "Alright yes, it is true that I've thought about using a lot. It's true that I'm desperate to use right now. But I'm stuck in here, so that's not gonna happen."

"Firstly, thank you for being honest," she responded, "Secondly, you need help. You're in the mental stage of relapse, and you're at the point where if we let you out, you would instantly relapse. We can do something about that though."

He nodded again.

Lacie smiled, rubbing him soothingly on his shoulder, "You're doing really well, Break. We're all proud of you. Levi and Oswald went further than you. You're doing great. Just remember that you can ask for help whenever."

Break swallowed deeply, covering his exposed eye with a strand of hair as he felt himself tearing up a little, "I'm not doing this… for myself… I'm doing this for Reim…"

"Well, as long as you've got that as your motivation then it doesn't matter."

Lacie then opened the door, ushering the other 3 out of the dorm and leading them down the corridor to her therapy room.

…..

"Ummm… what is this?" Levi asked sceptically as Lacie handcuffed his wrists to the back of the chair and attached the straps to his forearms.

Lacie smirked, stepping back and staring at Rufus, Oswald, Levi and Break. The four had been handcuffed to the back of a chair, with a chain tying their stomachs down too. Around their forearms were straps, which lead to some sort of device controlled by Lacie.

Both Oswald and Levi squirmed around in their chairs, trying to break free from the chains; but it was to no avail.

Rufus gave up, knowing exactly where this was going. Break also decided against protest, realising quickly that Lacie had control over them.

"This," Lacie began, walking over to the device and gesturing to it, "will send electric shocks to those straps wrapped around your wrists when I press the button linked to each one of you."

"What the hell?!" Levi and Oswald both yelled simultaneously moving around even more in the chairs. Lacie just rolled her eyes, pressing the buttons linked to theirs, "OUCH!"

The two of them flinched, Levi cursing "fuck" under his breath as Oswald gritted his teeth.

"That hurts like shit…" Levi muttered, "This is fucked up…"

Oswald nodded in agreement, "yeh… damn that hurts…"

Lacie smiled sadistically, "Well then, as proved by Levi and Oswald, the electric shocks will really hurt. So I suggest you do as I say. Okay, I will go to each one of you individually, running through some of the effects the drugs had on you, both good and bad. Each time you show any signs of desire for the drug, I will shock you. Theoretically, your mind will begin to associate discomfort with the stimulus, and you'll no longer suffer from these cravings. Also, because you're being controlled, the feelings of this will also begin to associate with the drug. Of course, we've never done this before, so it could all backfire, but oh well!"

"One question," Levi interrupted.

"What is it?"

"I need to piss."

Oswald faced him judgementally, "… how is that a question?"

"… oh, right. Can I go to the bathroom?"

Lacie thought about it for a few seconds, "No. Hold it."

Levi pouted, "Crap."

"Anyway, we'll begin with the general feeling of being 'high'. Remember, if any of you interrupt me, then I will shock you." She told them, opening up the PowerPoint to show the dopamine effects, "Okay. Our brains work on a reward system, where specialised proteins called dopamine receptors are realised when we do something pleasing. Another protein called the transporter will then remove the dopamine so that it can be recycled for further us. With all stimulants, the release of dopamine is sped up dramatically. Also, the transporters will be stopped, so the dopamine will be continuously rele-"

Lacie halted her speech, shaking her head and slamming down on the buttons for all four of them.

"OUCH!" Rufus yelled at the sudden pain, surprised at how painful it actually was. Meanwhile, Levi and Oswald both flinched harshly, and Break pretended not to feel the pain. Of course, both Rufus and Lacie noticed as he furrowed his eyebrows and gritted his teeth.

"What was that for?!" Oswald shouted to her.

Levi shuffled around in his seat a bit, "Yeh! None of us said anything!"

"No. You didn't _say_ anything," chuckled Lacie, "But once I started talking about the feeling of being high, Rufus started grinning creepily, and Oswald was smiling to himself, probably in his own little world. You, Levi, began nodding slightly when you remembered the feeling, and Break was basically drooling to himself!"

"Yeh, so?" Levi retorted, "Let us fantasise!"

Without hesitation, Lacie sent an electric shock to Levi to shut him up, "The point of this is to associate the feeling of pain with drugs so that you _won't_ fantasise. And you're all feeling pain right now."

"Fuck… is the shocking really necess- OUCH, WHY AGAIN?"

"Stop talking back."

Levi frowned again, crossing his legs over stubbornly, "Can I at least piss first?"

"I was right when I said you had no shame…" Oswald muttered under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Lacie heard, and pressed down on his electric shock generator, "Nhn… ouch…"

"Haha," Levi mocked, "You got shocke- CRAP!" he jolted, hunching over slightly "Stop shocking me or I'll probably piss myself, jeez…"

"Then shut up," Lacie said simply, "Can I continue now?"

Break, Rufus, Oswald and Levi all nodded, afraid of being punished again.

"Good, now, as I was saying, dopamine will be continuously released, and that's where the high feeling comes from," she repeated again, keeping a close eye on the four of them, who simply sat frozen in fear, "I'm sure you're all aware of the comedown. Now, _without_ talking about drugs like they're a good thing, can you tell me one _bad_ thing about comedown? Rufus?"

"Um…" Rufus murmered, trying to think of something, "Without cocaine you get really paranoid… and you often can't sleep for a few days…"

"Good," Lacie told him, removing her fingers from the button connected to him and transferring them to the next, "Oswald?"

"If I really over did it on the booze, then… the hangovers were awful," Oswald frowned, his mind flashing back to the multiple times he'd woken up in an awful state, "I was very frequently really sick, sometimes in bad places…" he grimaced again at the thought, and then gestured towards Levi, "and this one never helped me… only ever told me I had a problem when I picked up the bottle straight after being sick."

"I'm a great friend like that," Levi grinned.

"And an addict too…" Oswald added, but was then cut off by Lacie.

"If you don't shut up I'll shock you."

The two silenced promptly.

"Levi"?

"Crap… um… well, you feel really awful, and you have no energy whatsoever. I guess… in some ways, you feel that, unless you use again, then there's no point to being alive… Hence I got addicted so easily," suggested Levi, trying so hard to keep a straight face instead of grinning regretfully.

"So, you were suicidal?" Lacie raised an eyebrow submissively.

"No. I was addicted."

"…" she had no idea how to respond, or whether to shock him for being too vague, "I'm not gonna shock you for that one, purely because I thought there was something strange honest about it."

Levi just sat still, knowing that at this point he'd end up in more pain if he continued treating this like a joke.

Because, it wasn't a joke, was it?

"Break; your turn," Lacie announced, shifting her finger to his shock control.

He faced straight downwards, barely making a sound in the silent room. His lips were still forced into a tiny smile, clearly being used to conceal his true feelings. The single crimson eye which could be seen was focused on the ground, filled with a single tear which was being hopefully held back. Break sniffed a little, not moving from his position as he slowly answered, "I never went through heroin comedown… I took it once, and then twice a few hours later… and then a third time. And that was it… I was addicted. In the 5 years, I never did the comedown. The second I started remembering what I wanted to forget… I used again."

"Okay…" Lacie stuttered, turning the PowerPoint off and picking up a list of some sort, "Now, for this part, I doubt I'll need to shock you, since I'll effectively be putting you off drugs. For each of the substances you used to take, I'm going to run through a list of some of the effects which they had on your bodies. Of course, if you interrupt me or talk about drugs positively, I won't hesitate to shock you."

The four of them nodded once again, like scolded children.

"Cocaine first then," Lacie continued, "Rufus, you ready?"

"I probably know all of this," he boasted, "I went to Lutwidge Academy. It's the best school in the country."

"What?" Levi interjected, " _You_ are alumni of Lutwidge?"

"Of course," Rufus snorted, "What do you take me for? I'm part of a rich and high class family."

"We went to Lutwidge!" Levi asserted, pointing to himself and Oswald. His expression showed both amazement and confusion, "It's where me and Oswald met."

"Of course, you pulled me out of there a year early…" Oswald accused his friend.

"Well, yeh but-" Levi was cut of instantly by a shock of electricity being sent straight up his arms. He jerked violently, yelping in pain as both Rufus and Oswald squealed beside him, "Ouch… fuck… I swear I'll wet myself if you do that once more…"

"And you'd be cleaning it up," Lacie intimidated, "So stop being a pain in the arse. That goes to the rest of you. Anyway; cocaine."

"Go on," Rufus ordered.

"You snorted it, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well then, firstly, the chemical substances in cocaine will break down the insides of your nose, eventually causing the septum to break. Yes, it's pretty grim. Also, your teeth and skin will ware away, and you will have an increased chance of heart failure at a young age. Mentally, you'll have reduced attention, insomnia, lethargy and increased hunger but no weight gain. Some of those are short term effects. Did you ever experience them?"

"Occasionally, yes," he claimed.

"As expected. And that doesn't put you off?"

Rufus shook his head hesitantly for a little, before finally contemplating and nodding briefly.

"There we go. Honesty sure is amazing," she giggled, "Now, onto crack cocaine."

"Oh god…" Levi cursed under his breath, "Here comes the part where I wished I listened in biology…"

Lacie stared at him for a moment, "You don't know any of the dangers to crack?"

Levi shook his head sheepishly.

"Well then, get ready to learn. Firstly, you're smoking it, and like cigarettes, that leads to damage in your throat and lungs, as well as the risk of lung cancer. You experience a loss of balance, dilated pupils, increased blood rate and heart rate, constriction in your veins and finally, muscle tremors."

"Damn…" Levi muttered, "I really fucked up my body, didn't I?"

Lacie agreed, "Mhm… yep."

Levi faced her uneasily, "And all that stuff is permanent?"

She nodded again.

"… Shit."

"Anyway," Lacie broke in, "Heroin next."

Break rolled his eyes, "And here it comes…"

Her finger brushed over the button, "Watch your attitude. Do you know any of the negative effects of heroin?"

His expression shifted to one implying aggression, but he simply gritted his teeth and tilted his head downwards, "I've heard some stuff but… never the full details."

"Right. Okay, firstly, short term effects can be weakness, dry mouth, slow breathing and alternating alertness."

Break chuckled lightly to himself, "Yeh… I guessed those ones…"

"Well, they're short term, so they happen after one time. The long term effects can include abscesses, decreased liver function, collapsed veins and infection of the heart lining. All of these could still affect you now."

"… great… I can see why Reim wanted to get me off that disgusting stuff…" Break countered.

"… Sure," Lacie eyed him suspiciously, but then realised internally that the aversion therapy must be having an effect on him. Had they really been clueless to what they were doing to themselves? Clearly. Although, most addicts she'd treated at least had some idea as to why they had to stop. "Lastly, alcohol. Oswald, do you know any of the negative effects of alcohol?"

"Um… no…" he admitted, "I'm like Levi. Science really wasn't my forte…"

"Good; we all learn something new today. Okay, if you drink so much alcohol that it turns into an addiction, you may suffer from psychosis, depression, sleep disorders, cravings, irritability and difficulty eating. Physically, you risk mouth cancer, along with anaemia, pancreatitis, chronic gastritis and liver disease."

"…"

"Have anything to say for yourself?"

Oswald shook his head, mumbling, "… no."

"That's what I thought… Ok, we're done for today," Lacie declared, "I can't tell whether it's worked yet, but in therapy it'll probably become clear. I'll unlock you, and then you can return to your room or whatever."

She approached Levi first, releasing the chain from around his middle and unlocking the handcuffs. The second he was released, he leapt up, running straight from the room.

"Someone was in a hurry…" she joked, untying the rest of them and watching as they filed out of the room individually.

Lacie cleaned up a little, before flicking through some of the files and sighing, "… I wonder when you guys will realise that it's too late to fix the damage…"


	16. Chapter 16: Christmas

_**(A/Ns: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Here; have the cringiest chapter ever for your gift! I know, I made this adorable, cringy, sad and hilarious all at the same time. I don't know... I wrote this yesterday on Christmas Eve when the idea of a massive snow war came to me, so here we are! Also, some very subtle hints to do with the twins and Jack are dropped in here, because I have to keep some things consistent. They all may appear a bit OOC, but it's festive so oh well.**_

 _ **Please review! I love hearing what you think!**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: mentions of prescription medication abuse, some Elliot x Leo fluff, 100% cringe alert**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Sixteen: Christmas~**

"GILLLLLLLLLLLLLL! MERRY CHRISTMASSS~!"

Gilbert was woken up on Christmas morning by Oz yelling. He opened his eyes wearily, seeing Oz straddled over his stomach and shaking his shoulders hastily.

"Oz… wha-"

"IT'S CHRISTMAS!"

"Y-yeh I know that…" Gilbert pointed out slowly, "What time is it?"

"8 am."

"… Why are you waking me up this early?"

"BECAUSE IT'S CHRISTMAS! AND THERE'S SNOW!"

Gilbert frowned, pushing the young boy off of his and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "… You're acting like a kid waking their parents up way too early to open your presents."

Oz grinned, "Sorry _daddy…"_

Gilbert blushed a little, looking down at the blonde boy, who was still smiling innocently, "Why am I the daddy?"

"Because you're the grumpy one!"

"… Who's the mother?"

"Hmmm," Oz placed his finger on his chin quizzically, "Aha! Vincent!"

Gil flinched when he heard his brother's usual lively voice from behind him, "As long as I get to marry Nii-san and be with him forever, I'm happy!"

"Um, Vince…" Gil stuttered, staring up at the other blonde in the top bunk, "Isn't that considered incest?"

"Who cares?!"

"… any sane person?"

"Jack can be my older brother!" Oz chimed, skipping over to the other bunk and pointing to Jack, who was already awake and staring down in amusement and the three of them.

"Just a quick question," Jack laughed, sitting up and brushing through his hair, "… Why are we playing families?"

"Because Christmas is about being with family, and none of us really have family here…" Oz explained, his smile dropping a little bit as he sat on the bed underneath, "Christmas was always my favourite day of the year. Uncle Oscar took me and Ada ice skating. We used to get so excited about Santa coming… and then I used to have so much fun with Ada, pretending Santa was real! Even this year, when I was supposed to go off to university… I planned on spending Christmas with them…"

Gil smiled sadly, walking over to him and patting his head, "They're proud of you Oz. We'll have a fun Christmas here…"

"Okay… thank you, Gil," Oz beamed, getting up and climbing onto Jack's bed, "Scoot over."

Jack did as instructed, laughing and shaking his head, "So am I supposed to be the grumpy brother or something?"

"No, Gil's the grumpy dad, Vincent is the over protective mum, and you're the… hmm, rebel brother?"

"Oh jeez…" Jack sighed, "How am I supposed to act like a rebel?"

"Ooh!" Oz leapt down from the bunk in one swift movement, picking up Gil's pack of cigarettes from the table whilst he wasn't paying attention and plucking one from the pack. He then went into his bag, pulling out a pair of dark sunglasses and climbing back into the bunk. Jack continued staring as Oz put on the sunglasses and placed the cigarette in the side of his mouth, "Jack's been stealing Daddy's cigarettes."

Jack was still for a moment, questioning what the hell was going on. After a few seconds he simply laughed, pretending to act like a rebel. He still had no idea what was going on, but for some reason it seemed fun, so he simply stuck with it.

Gil exhaled, chuckling at Oz's actions so far that he became completely oblivious to how Vincent was clinging to his shoulders.

"So Gil. Are you finally happy?"

The raven laughed a little, shaking and lowering his head, "Shut up Vince… It's Christmas."

….

"ALYSS! WAKE UP!" Alice screamed, jumping up and down on her twin's bed, "It's Christmas! THAT MEANS LOADS OF DELICIOUS MEAT!"

Alyss rolled her eyes, "I doubt they're going to be serving various meats in a place like this on-"

"Don't be such a buzzkill!" Alice demanded, hopping down off of the bunk and standing on one of the chairs, "I want turkey… and beef… and… and chicken! And pork! Oh, and on Christmas, don't they usually serve goose or something?!"

"I don't kn-"

"I don't even know what goose is, but I bet it tastes sooooo delicious!"

Alyss simply ignored her sister, climbing out of the bed and looking around the room, "We have no presents."

"Of course we don't. We never did," stated Alice, "Lacey never bought us any presents. But she cooked us amazing food!"

"This was the only day of the year we got to see her…" Alyss said nonchalantly, "She was always off doing other business, like our parents."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Alice yelled excitedly, "IT'S CHRISTMASSSS!"

"Not so loud plea-"

"NOPE!"

…..

"Hey, hey, Oswald?"

"What?"

"Are you awake?"

"…"

"Oh, right…" Levi realised his own stupidity, sitting up and glancing at Oswald, who was lying on his back staring at the ceiling, "It's Christmas today, right?"

"Yes," Oswald replied.

"Cool," Levi sat up, brushing through his hair as he begun braiding part of it, "What did ya get me?"

Oswald stared at him, "How the hell was I supposed to get you a present?"

"You love me, you'd figure it out."

"Who said that?" Oswald remarked.

"I don't know. What's the time?"

The other sat up, looking at his watch, "About 5 past 8."

Levi looked out the window, "Oh wow, it sure is bright out there."

"It's snowing."

Levi and Oswald both turned their heads simultaneously, looking as Rufus stood up and walked over to the curtains, sliding them open to show a couple of inches of snow covering the window sill and grass outside.

"See?"

Oswald eyed him suspiciously, "How did you know that without opening the window."

"Simple," Rufus claimed, "The sun in winter is not bright enough at this time of day to create that shade of light. Therefore, it had to be snow."

"… Right," Levi pretty much ignored the information, "Is Break still asleep?"

"Yeh, I think so," Oswald added, looking the other man over.

"His sleeping pills have basically knocked him out," Rufus commented, "He takes too many most nights. As far as the nurses have told me, his insomnia is pretty severe."

"Oh… well, it's Christmas and I want to go bury Oswald in the snow-"

"Wait what?" Oswald interjected.

"Ha, never mind," Levi dismissed, "My point is, he's waking up."

Oswald tried to stop him by pointing out, "I think if you wake someone up on sleeping pills they- ah, never mind then."

Levi stood up, kicking the side of Break's bed and opening the window, letting all the cold air into the room. A few seconds later, Break begun to stir, waking eventually and sitting up wearily.

"Argh…" he furrowed his eyebrows, pressing a hand down hard onto his forehead.

"Are… you ok?" Levi asked, as innocent as possible.

Break looked up, his eye looking around blindly before having the instincts to shut the window, "Yeh… my head just really hurts, that's all."

"Well, its Christmas today," Levi informed him, almost like he'd forgotten.

"Is it? I didn't notice."

"… what?"

Break sighed softly, lying backwards against the window, "I never had a reason to celebrate Christmas."

"Oh… well, today, you do have a reason!" Levi chimed, "And if you come outside with us now, you get to watch me bury Oswald in the snow!"

Oswald glared at him questioningly.

"I'm serious about that, by the way."

….

Meanwhile, outside in the snow, Elliot and Leo had already made it there, and were currently sitting down in it.

"So, did you enjoy your present?" Elliot asked, smirking as he continued building something with a chunk of ice.

"This morning?" Leo laughed, "Yes, thank you."

"Did you always enjoy Christmas?" Elliot wondered, "You seemed slightly happier this morning."

Leo smiled a little, looking down and shifting the snow around, "At the House of Fianna, we always got given massive sacks of presents by the staff. One of them would even dress up as Santa."

"Huh, good to know."

The two were silent for a little bit, until Elliot finished making the snow into a perfectly circular ball. He grinned, throwing the ice snowball straight at Leo's glasses.

"Hey!" Leo flinched, "What was that for?"

"I want you to take off the glasses," Elliot demanded, and then gave Leo his best puppy eyes, "Please?"

Leo looked unsure for a little, before pulling the glasses off and tucking them into his coat pocket.

He opened his eyes fully, smiling across to Elliot as he felt the other place a hand on the side of his face. The two leant into each other, with Elliot being the first to place his lips onto Leo's.

They kissed lightly for a few seconds, before Elliot pulled away a little, and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Leo."

"Merry Christmas, Elliot."

"Also," Elliot blushed a little as he intertwined Leo's hand within his, "I know we haven't talked about this much but… I should just say it now… Leo, w-will you go out with me?"

Leo chuckled, kissing Elliot Eskimo style before whispering in reply, "Yes."

The two collapsed back in the snow, their lips connecting once again.

A few seconds later, Break, Levi, Oswald and Rufus all wandered into the gardens.

"Oswald," Levi prodded his friend repetitively, "Who are they and why are they doing weird things?"

"I think they're the two 16 year old, but I can't remember their names," Oswald explained, "And how is what they're doing weird? You've done much worse things in much more open environments!"

"Yeh but…" Levi screwed his face up a little, "This is two guys…"

Break intervened at that point, "And why does that change things?"

"Mhmm, fair point," Levi finally agreed, watching in amusement and the two boys parted suddenly, both blushing madly.

"Dammit…" Elliot muttered, "Why does this keep happening to us?"

Across from them, Oswald, Break and Rufus had all sat down in the snow, wondering where the hell Levi had ventured to.

"So… what does Christmas usually consist of?" Break asked, picking up the snow and crumbling it between his fingers.

"This," said Rufus, launching a snow ball straight in Break's face.

For a few seconds, Break froze, wondering whether to be annoyed or amused… or maybe both.

Instead of either, he simply picked up some snow, making it into a snow ball before lobbing it straight at Rufus' face.

Oswald continued watching the two attack each other with snow, until he suddenly felt a massive chunk of ice cold snow fall straight down on his face. The white snow covered his black hair and shoulders, and he sighed, turning around to see Levi standing triumphantly, with an empty bucket in his hand.

"Merry Christmas!"

Just as the four of them started a massive snowball fight, Oz, Gil, Vincent and Jack all wandered outside into the snow.

"Gil!" Oz cheered, picking up the snow and throwing it straight at his face, "Let's have a snow ball fight!"

"Huh?" Gil asked, but not before another two snow balls were launched at him, one hitting his shoulder and the other knocking him straight in the face again. He looked ahead, seeing as Vincent, Oz and Jack all stood in a row, snow balls in their hands ready to be launched.

"Oh Jesus…" he sighed, face palming, "This seems like some weird rip off of mean girls…"

Oz started laughing, and then yelled, "BLONDE SQUAD! ATTACKKKK!"

Soon after that, their snow ball fight and the other room's had merged into one massive war between room 3 and room 4, which Elliot and Leo were quickly dragged into as well.

A few minutes after everyone had gotten involved, Alice and Alyss came running outside, dressed in nothing except their normal attire and yet somehow not freezing.

"GET READY!" Alice screamed, launching herself into the middle of the snow ball fight. Alyss followed shortly after, expect with the excitement reduced. None of the people involved already seemed to question it, expect realising one thing:

It was the first time all 12 of them had ever interacted.

"Hey Gil!" Oz yelled over the noise, diving behind the raven as he almost got wacked by another snowball, "Look! Everyone is here!"

"Yeh… I guess they are."

"Hehe," Oz chuckled, dumping a handful of snow straight onto top of Gil's head, "And it's all because of Christmas!"

 _~ Merry Christmas ~_


	17. Chapter 17: Anonymous

_**(A/Ns: The link between all the characters is finally here! Yes, things have been hinted at since the beginning, and hopefully this chapter will leave you with even more questions! I had a plan for this since the beginning, but I still really confused myself when I was trying to figure it all out. Everything will be explained in the next chapter, some of which in the form of flashbacks. As for this 'Lacey' person, please remember that they are not the same character as Lacie, just very similar. I guess you could call Lacey an OC, but she's dead so it doesn't really matter. Also, you guys get to finally see the twins again. Yes, they are important now.**_

 _ **Please review! I'd love to hear from you, and what you think of the shock revelation thingy. Also, if you can, please take the time to tell me what your predictions are for the next chapter, which will be very important and intense.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Seventeen: Anonymous~**

Lacie was approaching the door of Jack, Gilbert, Vincent and Oz's room, hurrying but not so much as to seem concerned. It was around 2 in the afternoon, and the four of them had returned from lunch normally.

Shortly after, the emergency signal had gone off.

Opening the door slowly, the first thing Lacie saw was Jack, lying on the floor in the recovery position. Gilbert and Vincent were both standing next to him, Vincent looking bored, and Gilbert looking only mildly worried. Oz, on the other hand, was crouched down beside him, trying to wake him up.

"What happened?" Lacie asked, trying her best to sound concerned.

The moment she spoke, Oz's head jerked upwards, and he let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god, someone is here… we got back from lunch, he stood still for a little bit, ran into the bathroom and threw up, and then collapsed. Gil helped me drag him out here and put him in the recovery position."

"Okay," Lacie responded, walking over to Jack and pressing a hand to his wrist and then forehead, "He's stable. Probably just had one of his visions again. Give him water when he wakes up, and try to get him to talk about it."

Oz nodded, watching as Lacie left the room.

"Is this the first time it happened since a few nights ago?" Gil questioned, pushing himself away from the bunk bed which he was leaning on, and pulling a cigarette from the pack before sticking it behind his ear, "You know, when he realised the killer was someone here."

"Mhm," Oz confirmed.

"Maybe he'll remember something else," Gil muttered, pulling out a lighter and walking out onto the balcony, "I'm going for a smoke."

"I'll come with you!" Vincent desperately called after him, stalking his brother outside.

Oz laughed at the two brothers, before turning back to Jack, and finding that, to his delight, the blonde was waking up.

"Jack?"

"Ngh… what?" Jack sat up wearily, looking around the room and waiting for the walls to stop spinning, "What… h-happened?"

"You threw up after breakfast," Oz told him, "And then collapsed. Me and Gil pulled you out here, and then Lacie came to check on you."

"Lacie…" Jack whispered, completely unaware that he had just started crying, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably, "oh… right, the nurse…"

Oz passed a tissue to him, "Are you… okay?"

Jack looked across at Oz, shaking his head before trying to wipe away some of the tears, "I… I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but… my girlfriend… he name was Lacey. It was spelt differently, but her and he nurse look similar. It… was the first thing I noticed… when I came here."

"Oh… Did you remember anything? You know… when you blacked out?"

"Huh? Oh… no. I still… don't know who it is…"

Oz thought about his next question for a few seconds, contemplating whether it was appropriate to ask. He decided in the end, slowly asking, "Jack… what actually happened… with your girlfriend?"

"Oh… right, you don't know…" Jack realised.

"It's okay, if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine," he dismissed, "To be honest, there's not much I can tell you… I never really knew much about her…"

Oz nodded, gesturing him to carry on.

Jack continued, "When I was 14, my mother died, and I was forced to live on the streets. One day, when she was out, and I was 17, we met… she suddenly took me away somewhere else. We lived like that for a while. She never told me if she had any siblings or anything… When we were 20, we begun a relationship. She went to see someone everyone few weeks, but never told me who it was. Lacey… would disappear a lot, and never spent Christmas Day with me. I didn't mind… she was a free spirit. It continued like this for about 5 years. About a year ago, she spent a week away somewhere. Two weeks later, she found out… that she was pregnant…"

"And it couldn't have been you?"

"No," Jack shook his head, "It had to be someone else… I planned to propose to her, but… I couldn't… not when she'd had an affair with someone else. She finally admitted it was, but still refused to tell me who it was. During the two weeks after that, she was barely home. And then one night, I came home… and she'd been stabbed. I fainted… before I could see the killer."

Oz couldn't find the appropriate words to reply with, and so he was forced to remain speechless. Jack had gotten so upset talking about all of it, and was crying even harder than before. He almost felt bad for asking.

"I'm gonna… head to the relaxation room. Just relax for little. You can spend some time alone…"

Jack accepted that, standing up shakily and clambering over onto the bed. Oz left the room silently, sauntering down the corridor to the lounge area. Just before he opened the door, he heard two female voices screaming.

With a slightly confused expression, Oz opened the door cautiously and looked inside. There were only two people in there, and he immediately recognised them as Alice and Alyss; the twins.

Alice, the brown haired one, was currently straddled over her sister's back. They were on the middle sofa, with Alyss screaming manically and Alice laughing sadistically.

"Oz!" Alice yelled once she saw the blonde, "You are now my slave!"

"Huh?"

"Bow down to me, ahahahaha!"

"Alice, get off of me," Alyss demanded, "And you're scaring the new guy."

"You're boring," declared Alice, finally climbing off of her sister and stomping over to Oz, "What are you doing here?"

"Ah… um… my roommate, Jack, got upset about something, so I'm giving him some time alone," Oz explained, slightly terrified of the young girl in front of him.

"Well okay," Alice simply accepted it, leaping over the back of one of the sofas and landing next to where Alyss was still sprawled out, "What's the date today?"

"Um… the 28th, I think?" Oz told her.

"Close to the new year, aha!"

"Why does that matter?" Alyss looked up to her twin, "I don't care. It's boring now Christmas is over."

"I agree. This Christmas was the worst!" Alice yelled, "Lacey wasn't here to cook us any delicious meet!"

"To be fair, Lacey wasn't here last Christmas either." Alyss reasoned.

"Wait," Oz intervened, sitting on the sofa opposite them, "Did you say Lacey?"

"Yeh, what of it?" Alice interrogated.

"Well… who was she to you?"

"Our older sister who raised us," Alyss told him, unemotionally.

"You had a sister called… Lacey?"

"That's what we just told you!" Alice shouted at him, "Are you dumb?"

"Jack…" Oz muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Oh, never mind… Why did you mention Christmas Day, just out of interest?"

"That was the only day we got to see her," Alyss said nonchalantly.

"Yeh. Once she was 17, at least. We never knew what happened to her after that. She only visited us on Christmas. We have no idea where she went," Alice explained, "We were 8 at the time."

"So…" Oz started, mentally trying to link everything together. This Lacey person… could it be…? "You said about last Christmas… what do you mean by she wasn't there?"

"She'd been killed," Alice said simply, as if it was nothing bad at all.

"They apprehended the killer too," Alyss expanded.

"Wait… they caught the killer?"

Both Alice and Alyss stared at Oz, and then simultaneously yelled, "Of course they did!"

"Oh…" Oz muttered to himself, "But Jack said…"

Alice slapped Oz around the face, "Who is Jack!?"

"Ouch…" Oz flinched, realising he probably shouldn't tell Alice and Alyss about Jack, since they seemed not have no idea who he was, "Did the killer get arrested?"

"No. He was apparently bailed after one night."

Oz nodded slowly, piecing all of it together in his mind. It all made so much sense, but at the same time the conclusion seemed so distant, "Do you know who the killer is?"

Alyss frowned, "They refused to tell us. Apparently we were underaged. No one apart from the police was told about it."

Alice smirked, dominantly crossing one leg over the other, "We figured out who it had to be though."

Oz's eyes widened, "What? Who?"

"Her older brother."

"... She had an older brother?"

"Yes."

"Although," Alyss added, "Apparently he doesn't know we exist."

"Do you know his name? Or what he looks like?"

Both Alice and Alyss shook their heads.

"So… you guys aren't sad about her death?"

"Not really," Alice told him, "We never saw her."

"She raised us, to be fair," Alyss reasoned.

Alice laughed sarcastically, "Ahaha, and look where that ended up!"

"Thank you for telling me," Oz grinned, "And sorry for prying for information."

"Why are you apologising?" Alice scoffed.

"Well…"

"You don't have to apologise for everything, you know," she said.

"I guess… I just grew up thinking everything was my fault…"

Alice shook her head, delivering a swift kick straight to his shin, "Stop moping. Complaining will get you nowhere."

Oz smiled sadly to himself, "hehe, I guess I already figured that…"

"Good. Now, Alyss. Pick me up! We're going outside."

Alyss stared at her twin, "But there's still snow outside… its freezing… and we're hardly wearing anything."

"I don't give a crap!" Alice leapt up, dragging Alyss across the floor to the door before she finally stood up and followed, "Oz! You come too!"

"Oh… um, sure!"

…

After an hour of shuffling around in the snow, Oz, Alice and Alyss had finally finished building their snow man. It was taller than both Alice and Alyss, which had resulted in Oz being dropped straight on top of Alyss from Alice's shoulders.

"Ouch…" Oz rubbed his head, noticed the awkward position which he and the twins had landed in. Alice was straddled over his hips, with Alyss completely crushed by both of their weights.

Oz blushed, noting that the position could be deemed quite sexual.

"Ahh… um sorry Alyss… I-I'll get off you…" Oz stuttered, feeling his face heat up as he tried to push Alice of his hips, "Alice… can you get off me?"

"No! You're my servant! You don't order me around!"

"But… Aliceee!" Oz whined, blushing ever harder, "This position is super awkward!"

"Fine." She gave in for once, rolling off him straight onto the snow, "Look! Our snowman is huge!"

Oz smiled up at it, "Yeh… it's nice."

Alice hesitated a little, before leaning up to Oz'a face and biting him on the cheek.

"Wha…!?" Oz started blushing more than before.

"That's what a girl does to a girl when they're friends, right?" she defended.

"Um… well…"

"Alice, they kiss," Alyss explained, "And that's what happens when you're in a relationship."

"Oh well," Alice replied, grabbing a hold of Oz's arm, "We'll just be friends, right?"

Oz grinned, looking down at the girl, "Yeh, Alice… I'll be your friend."

….

"Where's Oz?" Gil asked, walking back from therapy with Vincent eagerly tailing him. He opened the door to Jack lying on his bed, fast asleep where they'd left him a couple of hours ago, "Oh, you're asleep…"

"Do you think he's going to remember, Nii-san?" Vincent asked, leaning his head against the other's shoulder.

Gilbert frowned at him, but didn't question it, "Probably."

At that moment, the two heard the bathroom door open, revealing Oz. His clothes were covered in ice, and he looked absolutely freezing. But, nevertheless, he still wore the same beaming smile.

"Hey, Oz," Gil greeted, "Where have you been?"

"Outside in the snow. I spoke to Alyss and Alice for a bit too," Oz said, his expression changing slightly, "They told me some pretty interesting stuff, actually. I need Jack to wake up."

Vincent had already wandered over to where Jack was, "Oh god… he's pissed himself again."

"Maybe he's remembering?" Gil suggesting, observing the distressed look on his face. He shook his head, retrieving a cigarette from his pocket and sticking it in his mouth, "Well whatever. We'll leave you to it. I need a cigarette."

As expected, Vincent followed directly behind Gil.

Oz watched as the two went outside, walking over to Jack and shaking his shoulder, "Jack… wake up."

After a little longer, the blonde finally began stirring, "O-oz?"

"Yeh, it's me. Are you okay? You looked like you were having another nightmare."

"Oh… I-I don't really remember…" Jack admitted, managing to sit up. He looked down, straight away noticing the stain around his jeans, "Ugh… not again…" he muttered, covering the shame displayed on his face, "Sorry…"

Oz exhaled, "It doesn't matter."

Jack pouted, crossing his legs over in attempt to cover up, "I know but… I was only napping this time…"

"Here," Oz tossed him a towel, which he gratefully took, "I have some stuff to tell you… about Lacey."

His eyes widened, "Huh? What…?"

"Well… I met with Alice and Alyss, and the told me about someone called Lacey… who was their older sister."

"Lacey had… younger sisters?"

"Apparently," Oz told him, and then took and deep breath before telling him the next part, "And also… she had an older brother… who they suspect was the killer…"

Jack froze completely, desperately trying to process the information which he'd just been told. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot across his forehead, causing him to flinch in pain and press down hard on his skull.

"Jack! What's happening?"

He couldn't comprehend Oz. In a spilt second, all he saw was the scene of his girlfriend's murder.

Except this time, he could distinctly see the killer's face.

He gulped, shaking uncontrollably as his eyes brimmed with tears, "Oz… I… I-I know who Lacey's brother is… who the _killer_ is…"

 _ **(A/Ns: Sorry about the cliffhanger... till next time!)**_


	18. Chapter 18: Lacey

_**(A/Ns: BWAAAAHHHH THIS CHAPTER IS SOO LONG ITS FRICKIN 5k WORDS! It's important though. Okay, this chapter finally explains everything which the fanfic has been leading up to with Jack, Oswald, Levi and Lacey (Remember Lacey is effectively an OC) So a few things. One, a lot of stuff is done through flashbacks, but they'll be clear. Two, I really confused myself planning this out, so if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Just remember that Oswald is 2 years older than Lacey. Also, I had real fun thinking of what 14 year old Levi would be like. Heh, it truly is something. Finally, I had Levi smoking when he was 23, cause he wasn't on crack at that point and i'd hinted at it in ch9. I just thought it suited him, but he wasn't addicted. The next chapter will be Elliot and Leo, before more of another characters past is explained in ch20.**_

 _ **Please review! I would really love to hear what you all thought of the revelations in this chapter, and whether you thought this would happen.**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: drugs, alcohol abuse, violence and sexual content (no lemon)**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Eighteen: Lacey~**

Oz stared at Jack with wide eyes, "Huh? You've figured it out?"

Jack could only nod, breaking down into tears completely and wiping his eyes repeatedly with his fingers. He felt so sick, shaking like crazy as he imagined the face of the person he'd just seen. He couldn't speak; only try to process the information which Oz had just told him.

"Jack, please… just breathe," Oz persuaded, unsure what to do.

Once he could muster up the courage to speak again, Jack managed to look up, tear filled eyes looking straight at Oz, "I… I-I… I didn't… figure it out… I… always knew… I saw the murderer… I saw their face. I-I… I just forgot…!"

"And now you've remembered?" Oz asked, gripping his shoulder as an attempt at comfort.

Jack nodded again, "I… I remember their face… I was right… I know their name… they're here, in this centre…"

"Okay… now tell me… who is it?"

"I-I… It's…" Jack took a deep breath before saying, "… Oswald… It's him. Oswald was Lacey's brother… he… he was the one who killed her!"

"What…?" Oz started downwards, "It… was him…"

Whilst Oz was still distracted, Jack stood up abruptly, storming off and slamming the bathroom door behind him. Oz, soon realising what had happened, leapt up, following him over to the bathroom and banging on the door.

"Jack! Please! Calm down! You need to talk to someone before you do something you'll reg-"

Oz was cut off by the sound of smashing glass, shortly followed by another crash. Jack was completely out of control.

Suddenly, after a couple more crashes, the room fell silent, and all Oz could hear was the echo of his crying coming from behind the door. Only a minute later, the door swung open, and Jack immediately pushed Oz aside in fury and flounced out of their bedroom.

"Jack! Wai-"

The door was thrown shut, straight in Oz's face.

"Maybe I shouldn't intervene…" Oz muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead, "Well… at least he changed his pants before going on his rampage…"

"Oz?" Gilbert called, walking into the room and seeing the blonde squatted on the floor, "What happened?"

"Ah, Jack remembered who killed his girlfriend. And now he's gone to confront him."

"And who was it?"

"Oswald," Oz told him simply.

"Oh, he's the alcoholic, right?"

"Mhm."

Vincent interjected, "Meh. He seemed like an arsehole anyway."

….

Meanwhile, Jack was still marching down the corridor, heading straight across to the room where he knew he 4 addicts were situated. Without knocking, he kicked the door open, hearing as it smashed into the adjacent wall and poking his head into the room.

"Where's Oswald?" he interrogated, his tone showing how desperately he was holding back the anger which was boiling inside of him.

Both Break and Rufus were currently inside the room, with Rufus reading calmly and Break gazing out the window.

Break snapped out of his trance, being the first to answer Jack.

"He and Levi are in the relaxation lounge. Why do- ah, never mind."

He was cut off by Jack leaving immediately, striding off in the direction of Oswald and Levi.

"Do you have any idea what that was about?" Break questioned.

Rufus shook his head. "Not a clue…"

In the relaxation room, both Oswald and Levi were in there alone. Oswald was browsing through some of the shelves briefly, completely unaware of the fact that Jack was charging down the corridor for him at that moment. Levi, on the other hand, was stretched out on the sofa, writing something down in his notebook.

"What are you writing?" Oswald asked. Although, overall, his tone didn't express much interest.

"Ah, I thought you might ask," Levi chimed, "I got bored of writing one of my old books, so I started a new one."

"You should really submit your work to publishers some time," Oswald recommended, "Your writing isn't half bad."

"Ooh, a compliment from Oswald. Isn't this a rare occasion, eh?"

"Shut up," Oswald muttered, placing the object he'd previously been holding back on the shelf. "Although, you might want to consider changing your pen name."

Levi shot him a quizzical look, asking; "What's wrong with 'Evil B'?"

"Well, it's just a bit-"

Suddenly, Jack burst into the room, a look of rage spread across his face as he spotted Oswald. Without a second of hesitation, he stormed over to him, grabbing him by the collar and smashing his back into the wall.

Despite still showing no emotion on his face, Oswald's eyes widened ever so slightly at Jack's outrage. On the sofa, Levi had simply frozen up, not sure whether to be amused or concerned for his friend. He went with option one, chuckling to himself as he registered Oswald's barely shocked face.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Oswald swung his leg to the side, throwing Jack off balance and watching as he fell straight to the floor. In one swift movement, he stepped over the blonde, crossing his arms over with no change in his expression

"Argh…" he flinched, rubbing the back of his head where it had slammed into the floor, "H-how… how did you do that?!"

"I have enough experience," Oswald shrugged, and then lifted Jack's chin upwards to face him with the toe of his shoe, "Now why are you here?"

"You… you… killed her!" Jack accused him, failing to hold back as he squirmed around under the other's foot and started crying again, "I know it now…! I remembered everything! It was you! I saw your face! You know who I am… I-I… I know you're Lacey's brot-"

Oswald screwed his face up, sighing in resentment as he delivered another swift kick straight to Jack's neck, before releasing the blonde and watching him scuttle across the floor and back up against the wall. He marched over to him, sticking his foot onto his chest and holding him securely, right where he was.

He scoffed, "You disgust me."

All of a sudden, from across the room, Levi burst out laughing. Both Oswald and Jack stared at him, perplexed.

Just as he regained himself, Levi managed to speak. "Ahaha, Oswald… you can't just go running your mouth like that without reason!"

Oswald rolled his eyes, "What I meant is; he can't just barge in here and start blatantly accusing me for things which he harbours no evidence for."

"But… you didn't deny it!" Jack yelled, flinching as Oswald increased the pressure against his chest.

"No, I didn't deny it," Oswald agreed, "But I didn't confirm it either."

"Did you kill her?!" Jack screamed, feeling as the tears of frustration streamed down his face.

Oswald considered the question for a second. "I'm not obliged to answer that."

"B-but… you… So you're admitting you killed her?!"

"I never said that I killed her."

"But you're her brother, right?!"

"Yes, I a- wait, how did you know that?" Oswald snapped.

"Oz spoke to Alyss and Alice, and they said their brother killed Lacey."

Oswald gasped ever so slightly, "I have… younger sisters?"

"Well… yeh, that's what Oz said…" Jack's voice trailed off as he finished the sentence, before dismissing it. "That doesn't matter at the moment. What I want to know is… if you were the one to kill Lacey!"

"I've already said; you can't force an answer out-"

"Oswald," Levi sighed, sitting up and facing the two. He had been listening, but not paying full attention. The first thing he saw was Oswald standing over Jack, who was pinned against the wall by his foot.

"What?"

"Just tell him the truth. He's already remembered your face," Levi reasoned, standing up and walking over to the two of them, "But he has no evidence, so they can't throw you back in jail."

"Fine," Oswald frowned, releasing Jack. The second he was free, the blonde stood up. He faced Oswald, who gazed at him for a bit, before taking a deep breath and finally saying; "Yes. It was me. I killed Lacey. I… killed my sister."

"I… I can't believe… it took a year… but…" Jack stuttered, feeling himself tear up again, "W-why…?"

Oswald exhaled heavily, "I think you should sit down. It's going to take a while to explain everything."

Jack sniffed, wiping his eyes before obeying, taking a seat on the chair opposite the other two.

"I suppose, everything started," Oswald began, turning towards Levi next to him, "… When I met Levi…"

…

 _"_ _Who're you?"_

 _Oswald looked straight ahead at the guy standing before him. He was only an inch taller than him, at the most, and his body language suggested that he had a much higher status than he did. He was dressed in the Lutwidge uniform, but his shirt was untucked and his tie was loose and scruffy. Nevertheless, his hair was still done up properly, with a single strand sitting over his shoulder and the rest held up by another braid. Overall, it looked like it would sit just below his shoulders._

 _"_ _I'm Oswald," he introduced, "I was moved here…"_

 _"_ _That's a bit crap, isn't it?" the other laughed, not seeming too pissed off. He raised his eyebrow at Oswald, "My parents paid for me to share a room with someone else of high status. I don't know who you are."_

 _"_ _Oh… I'm on a scholarship."_

 _"_ _Heh, so why am I sharing a room with you?"_

 _"_ _Because I got the highest score on the recent exams…" Oswald told him, "Sorry, I don't know yet… who're you?"_

 _"_ _Levi." He answered after a short pause, "I'm 14, oldest in the year group."_

 _"_ _Oh, I think I'm one of the youngest… I'm 13," Oswald said slowly, walking into the room and sitting on the empty bed._

 _Levi raised an eyebrow at his boldness, "Hey, kid."_

 _"_ _What?"_

 _"_ _Where've you come from?"_

 _"_ _Um… well, my parents left me and Lacey when I was 11, and she was 9… then I came to Lutwidge. I… haven't had contact with her in 2 years…"_

 _"_ _Lacey is your sister?"_

 _"_ _Yes."_

 _"_ _Is she fit?" Levi questioned, the question seeming just as serious as his face was._

 _"_ _Huh…?"_

 _"_ _Like, if she wasn't your sister, would you bang her?"_

 _"…"_

 _"_ _Oh Oswald," Levi chuckled, "You don't need to be embarrassed that you're still a virgin…"_

 _Oswald blushed, "I'm 13…"_

 _"_ _And I'm 14," he smirked, "That doesn't automatically make me a virgin."_

 _"_ _Wait… you are, right?"_

 _"_ _Hm, change of subject."_

 _Oswald's expression displayed nothing but disgust. Did he really have to share a room with this guy?_

 _Levi continued, holding up a bottle of red wine, "You want some?"_

 _"_ _Um… sure." Oswald reluctantly took the glass, finding to his surprise that it wasn't that bad. There was also something rather… interesting about Levi._

 _…_ _.._

"Aha, and that was our first meeting!" Levi flung an arm around Oswald's shoulders, "I remember it as if it were yesterday~"

"Yeh…" Oswald deadpanned, pushing Levi off of him before turning back to Jack, "So I left with Levi to join the Baskervilles when I was 17, and we both skipped the last year. Admittedly, we were pretty low members for a while."

"So… when did you finally meet Lacey again?" Jack asked. As much as he hated to admit it, he was rather intrigued by everything which he was being told. It seemed so far-fetched that all of this had been going on in Lacey's life, and he had no idea.

"She came to visit me when I was 19," Oswald explained, "It was also the first time that she met Levi…"

….

 _"_ _Oswald."_

 _Both Oswald and Levi had been sitting around in their room at the main base of the Baskervilles, not doing anything in particular, when they were both interrupted by a cold voice._

 _"_ _Who is ther-" Oswald immediately cut himself off when he saw the girl standing by the door. Even though it had been 8 years he still had no trouble recognising who she was. "Lacey…"_

 _She gave a deviant smile, walking over to her brother and looking up at him, "Been a while, hasn't it, brother?"_

 _"_ _Yeh…" Oswald stuttered, struggling to find the appropriate words, "H-how are you?"_

 _"_ _I'm good~" she smiled, "I've left home now."_

 _"_ _Oh, where are you staying?"_

 _"_ _With some guy. We're not going out. But he's really nice, and interesting."_

 _"_ _Where did you meet him?" he asked._

 _"_ _On the streets," she said simply, "He'd lost the will to live. His mother had been killed, and he'd been living on the streets since he was 14… I felt bad for him. But, there was definitely a connection."_

 _"_ _Ooh," Levi intervened, picking himself up and approaching the two siblings, "Sounds like there might be some romance there, eh?"_

 _Lacey raised an eyebrow at him, "And who might you be?"_

 _"_ _Woah, no need to get sassy with me, Lacey~" he smirked, "I'm Levi. Oswald's friend. We met at Lutwidge 6 years ago."_

 _"_ _Oh, nice," Lacey replied, but didn't seem all too impressed by Oswald's friend, "Oh, and that reminds me; how did Lutwidge go? You know, after you abandoned me."_

 _Her face expressed innocence, but from her tone, Oswald detected that she still held a grudge against him._

 _"_ _Well, we left a year early…"_

 _"_ _Ah, so tragic. Just to fulfil this organisation thing?"_

 _Oswald faced the floor sheepishly, "Yeh… I guess."_

 _She shook her head, "Oh well. I have to go now; my friend doesn't know where I went."_

 _"_ _You haven't told him about me?"_

 _Before Lacey could respond, Levi interjected once again; "It's probably best. We don't know who he is and shouldn't know she has a connection to you."_

 _Lacey glared up at Levi and said coldly, "Yes, I figured that much out myself."_

 _Levi stepped back defensively._

 _Oswald picked up the conversation once again, "I think that's best. Just be careful, okay?"_

 _She smiled bitterly at him, "Same goes to you."_

 _…_ _.._

As Oswald had been telling the story, he'd noticed as Jack started tearing up again.

"Are you okay?" he asked, not sounding overly concerned.

"Heh, okay enough, I guess…" Jack muttered, pulling his sleeves over his hands and using the fabric to wipe his eyes, "I mean… hearing about Lacey from the person who killed her… it's rough but…"

"Don't be too afraid of this guy," Levi teased, lightly smacking his friend on the shoulder, "He's a real softie inside."

Oswald rolled his eyes, changing the topic. "She visited us periodically after that. But, it was always unexpected."

"Yeh, she often left quite a lot…" Jack recalled, "She was a free spirit. I trusted her… So, did she ever tell you about our relationship?"

"Yes, in fact," Oswald stated, "It was the first time she ever got involved with the Baskervilles…"

…

 _"_ _No. She's not coming with us."_

 _"_ _But why?" Levi protested, "Oswald, we need her. She's crafty and manipulative, and we just don't have enough people to do this on our own."_

 _"_ _Levi, it's dangerous," Oswald reasoned, turning to Lacey, who had been watching the two debate from the sofa for a while, "Lacey, please say you don't want to do this."_

 _Lacey shrugged, "Meh. You're doing it. And as long as you give me part of the profits, then I'll do it."_

 _"_ _See, she'll do it!" Levi celebrated, "Look, we've never done this kind of thing before. It can't be that bad."_

 _"_ _But…" Oswald pouted, "I don't want her getting involved in drugs."_

 _"_ _Oh please," Levi scoffed, "She's 20. She's responsible enough not to get addicted to anything."_

 _"_ _We won't be using any of it anyway," Oswald muttered, throwing Levi a weak glare, "She can't let this friend know what's going on now."_

 _"_ _Oh, yeh. Boyfriend now, actually," Lacey corrected._

 _Oswald blinked a few times, "Wait, since when were you going out?"_

 _She stood up. "Since about 2 weeks ago. I have to go now. I'll see you in a few days from now."_

 _He and Levi watched as she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Oswald paused for a few seconds, as Levi wandered over to the window and opened it._

 _"_ _You know," Levi said, getting Oswald's attention again. He turned around at the voice, watching as Levi removed a cigarette from the stray pack on the desk and lit up, "You can't stop that girl from doing what she wants."_

 _Oswald screwed his nose up at the smell as Levi puffed out a cloud of smoke, but didn't say anything. He didn't smoke frequently, so he couldn't complain too much. "Her existence is dangerous. And that other guy… she shouldn't be connected to other people."_

 _"_ _Do what you want," Levi muttered, taking another drag as he exhaled out the window, "… as long as I get a shot with her before…"_

 _…_ _._

"So… she told you?" Jack asked slowly.

"Yes," Oswald confirmed. "It was the first time she'd helped us with the tasks we were given to do."

"It was also the first time we'd done anything to do with drugs," Levi added, "Lotti also came with us, cause she was pretty new at the time. After that, she started dealing. Neither me nor Oswald did drugs much though. Nah, that wasn't until a couple of years later."

Jack raised an eyebrow at them. "You both did drugs?"

"Mhm," Levi nodded, "Oswald never liked them, just drank instead. I, on the other hand, managed to get addicted."

"Oh… so you saw her periodically after that, I presume?"

Both Levi and Oswald nodded simultaneously.

Oswald elaborated, "The more she was involved in the Baskervilles, the more dangerous it got. We aren't supposed to have connections with other people. That's very important. Despite not knowing who you were, I was weary of your existence. If you'd have found out what was going on and leaked information, then… well, I'd have had to kill you as well."

Jack gulped, "Oh… I never realised it was that serious." He paused for a second. "I… I was planning to propose to her when I was 25, just over a year ago. But, something happened, and I couldn't."

Levi shifted uncomfortably slightly, his mind flashing back to the incidents a year ago.

Oswald also caught on. "What happened, out of interest?"

"Oh… well, a few weeks before _you_ killed her, she left for about a week. She never told me where she went, but a few days after… she told me that she was pregnant. It couldn't have been me… no, she admitted that she'd had an affair with someone," Jack told them, fighting back tears as he recalled the events before Lacey's death. Just at that moment, he picked up on the awkwardness radiating from the two in front of him, "Hey… you guys wouldn't happen to know who it was she had an affair with, would you? I mean… she seemed to have connections with you, so…"

Oswald smirked inwardly, knowing that this was Levi's turn to have to defend himself. "Hm. Levi, you happen to know something about that, don't you?"

Levi felt himself blush slightly, as he turned his face away and focused on the opposite wall. Sheepishly, he said, "Maybe…"

"Wait," Jack speculated, "You know who it was?"

"Um…" Levi murmered, tapping his foot restlessly against the floor, "Yeh…"

"Well… who was it?"

"…. Me."

Jack felt the anger rise up inside of him. Who the hell did these two think they were? One of them killed his girlfriend, and the other one had an affair with her!

"You guys… really… didn't treat Lacey too well…" Jack accused, holding back his boiling anger as he faced the floor.

"At least I had a reason for what I did…" Oswald muttered under his breath.

"Hey!" Levi yelled defensively, "It was your fault she was upset in the first place!"

"Hang on… what happened that day?" Jack questioned.

"Well," Oswald began, "It was about a year ago… and obviously, I was an alcoholic by then, so…"

….

 _Oswald picked up his coat and wallet, heading away from the other two and proceeding to the door._

 _"_ _Where are you going?" Lacey asked, "We were having fun."_

 _"_ _I'm going to get some more drinks…" he muttered quietly, "We've run out."_

 _"_ _Hang on," Lacey stood up abruptly, "I agreed to stay a week with you. Why the hell do you need to go and get more booze now?"_

 _"_ _Because he's an alcoholic~!" Levi called out._

 _"_ _Shut up you crack addict," Oswald retaliated harshly, before registering Levi's slightly ashamed face and realising what he'd said, "Sorry… that was insensitive."_

 _"_ _You know, maybe he's right," Lacey argued, "Every time I see you, you're completely wasted! And now, you're biggest priority is getting even more of it. Face it; you're an alcoholic!"_

 _"_ _I'm not… ngh…" Oswald groaned, finding it difficult to deny at this point. Especially when his cravings for the substance were getting even stronger, "Look, I'm sorry you feel that way… but I don't have a problem, okay?"_

 _"_ _You do! You need help!" Lacey declared._

 _"_ _No… I don't ha-"_

 _His speech was cut off by a harsh slap being delivered straight across his left cheek. Astonished, Oswald looked down, to see his little sister gazing up at him, with tears glazing her eyes. "Just leave…" she whispered, her voice cracking as she stepped back, "Just… go get your freaking booze and get out."_

 _She looked genuinely hurt, backing away from him. Suddenly, she was stopped by a pair of arms pulling her into a tight embrace._

 _"_ _Levi…" she gulped, "What are you…"_

 _"_ _Has Oswald upset you?" he asked, pulling her closer and whispering directly into her ear, "How would you like for me to help you feel better?"_

 _Oswald watched the two of them converse for a little longer. Their voices were barely audible, and he certainly couldn't hear them. Shaking his head, he left the room, walking away from the scene he'd exited and heading straight to the liquor store._

 _Meanwhile, back in the room, Levi was still trying to convince Lacey to let him help her._

 _"_ _Levi… you know I have a boyfriend…" she reminded him._

 _"_ _But you said he didn't know we existed," Levi intertwined his fingers with hers, pulling her hand upwards and rotating her body to face him, "What's the harm if he never finds out?"_

 _She gazed up at him, eyes glinting in the light from the candles on the shelf as her mouth hung slightly open._

 _He smirked, lifting his free hand and pushing her chin up, closing her mouth, "Here… let me shut that for you. I'm not that bad, you know… I've got a reputation of being pretty good at this."_

 _Lacey gritted her teeth, trying to remove herself from Levi's grip. Instead, after a little more trying, she gave in, using her other hand to remove Levi's finger from her chin. She grinned up at him, placing the hand behind his neck and pulling him down towards her. "Hey… I'll let you do this…" she whispered, "Just make sure no one finds out, understand?"_

 _Levi agreed, placing a hand onto her waist and planting his lips onto hers. Shortly after, he slid his tongue into her mouth, pushing her backwards a few feet before collapsing onto the bed._

 _Still making out, Levi crawled on top of her, and began unbuttoning his jeans with his spare hand._

 _"_ _Mphm..." Lacey pulled away from him a second, "Isn't this Oswald's bed?"_

 _"_ _Yeh, and?" Levi replied, "He's upset, trust me. He won't be back for a while."_

 _…_ _.._

"Okay okay," Oswald grimaced, "We don't need to know anymore."

Levi pouted, "Aw. We hadn't even gotten to the good bit…"

Across from him, Jack looked like he was about 3 seconds away from punching Levi straight in the face. He looked up at him and said quietly as he held back his frustration, "You thought it would be okay to sleep with someone's girlfriend… as long as no one found out?"

"Well… when you put it like that…"

"To be fair," Oswald reasoned, "He was a crack addict at the time."

"Yeh. It was pretty harsh when you said that in front of Lacey," Levi pointed out, "I refused to accept it back then though."

"And then… after that, you killed her?" Jack asked.

Oswald nodded regretfully. "Yes. The organisation leader told me that either he killed her, or I did it. Either way, she would've died. But… I didn't want anyone else to do it. For her sake, it had to be me."

"Okay… I think I'm starting to understand everything…" Jack countered, "That doesn't mean I don't absolutely _despise_ you for killing her, but…I can see why it was kind of because of me…"

"I'm glad you understand my reason," Oswald proclaimed, "It was difficult for me as well. I think in the year after that, I drank so much more."

"Nah, you were already a pretty strong alcoholic when you got arrested," Levi teased.

"Oh yeh, you mentioned that earlier," Jack commented, "When the police interviewed me, I said I couldn't remember. I think… they knew my mental state was unstable. They never updated me on the investigation."

"Yeh," Oswald confirmed, "I was apprehended at about 4pm when I was in town about 6 months later. They had suspicions that it was me, since I matched the descriptions from one of the neighbours. But… they had no solid evidence to prove it was me."

"So… how long were you in for?"

"7 hours."

"… What? Who managed to afford the bail costs for someone suspected of murder?"

"Heh…" Levi intervened, "That would also be me…"

….

 _The police officer raised an eyebrow at Levi. "You actually want to pay the bail for him?"_

 _"_ _Yes," Levi replied firmly, "I have the money."_

 _"_ _Well, he is suspected of murder. They've found nothing from the questioning, but… I'm not sure you should bailing him out yet. He was apprehended at 4pm today, and it's only 11pm now… he hasn't even been here for 24 hours yet."_

 _"_ _Aha. You see, I went to Lutwidge, and Law happened to be my forte," Levi expressed cockily, leaning an arm on the officer's desk, "You can't hold him in prison without solid evidence if someone chooses to bail the suspect. I have offered to pay the large cost. Therefore, legally, you have to let him out."_

 _She grunted, "Fine. I'll just fill out the forms now, and then send someone to go and get him."_

 _"_ _Thank you…" Levi let out a sigh of relief._

 _"_ _So, just a few questions first," she looked up to Levi, still completing the paperwork, "How did you manage to acquire this much money?"_

 _"_ _Heh, I come from a fairly rich family," he boasted._

 _"_ _Really?" she responded, smirking slightly at her next comment; "So who is Oswald to you? Are you guys lovers or something?"_

 _Levi screwed his face up at the suggestion. "Oh, god no. I'm his best friend. We met when we were 14."_

 _"_ _How sweet," the officer muttered, and then turned around to face one of the guards, "Can you go and get Oswald from cell 6? Someone's bailed him out."_

 _"_ _Probably for the best," the guard mumbled, "He's been really irritable ever since a couple of hours ago."_

 _"_ _Did you find a reason?" she asked out of interest._

 _The guard shook his head, "No. We considered addiction, so we had him do a drug test, but it came back clean."_

 _Shortly after, the officer faced Levi again once the guard had left to retrieve his friend. "One final question. Why are you so desperate to get him out? Most people wouldn't do this for just a friend."_

 _"_ _Well…" Levi gave her an uneasy look as he answered, "To tell the truth, he won't last in here."_

 _"_ _Really? And why is that?"_

 _"_ _Heh, I can't really say to be honest. He just… he won't make it."_

 _The officer shook her head, gesturing for Levi to get closer to her. Shooting him a bitter expression, she whispered, "Look, listen here; this is between you and me."_

 _Levi nodded._

 _She continued, "I've been doing this for long enough to know an addict when I see one. Both you and your little friend better watch what you do."_

 _He backed away meekly, unable to speak as he nodded briefly._

 _A moment later, Oswald was dragged into the reception, his hands tied to his back. The handcuffs were unlocked a few seconds later, and the guard shoved him away. Both Levi and Oswald silently scurried out of the station._

 _They both walked straight to Levi's car, getting in without a word knowing that security cameras were still listening in on them._

 _The second they'd driven out of the prison and were on the road again, Oswald sighed heavily, resting his head against the window and furrowing his eyebrows, "Thank you…"_

 _"_ _It's fine," Levi replied quietly, still slightly hurt by what the officer had said to him._

 _"_ _No, it's not," Oswald protested, "Sorry… you've just had to pay a huge amount of money to get my sorry ass out of jail."_

 _"_ _It doesn't matter," Levi dismissed, "When was the last time you had a drink?"_

 _"_ _What? Ugh…" Oswald buried his head in his hands. "I think about 2pm today… Ugh, I get why you bailed me out."_

 _"_ _Yeh, you get it now," Levi dug around the area behind him, keeping one hand on the wheel. He pulled out a bottle of vodka, handing it to Oswald. "I presume you'll want this?"_

 _Oswald grabbed the bottle from Levi, hastily screwing the cap off and downing some of it, "Thank you… so much. I mean that…"_

 _"_ _Yeh…" Levi spoke slightly less boldly than usual, and Oswald could instantly tell something was bothering him._

 _"_ _What is it? Something's clearly upset you. Trust me; it doesn't happen often, so it's obvious when it does."_

 _Levi froze, "Oh… just something the officer said to me…"_

 _"_ _What did she say?" he asked, knocking back more of the alcohol._

 _"_ _She said she 'recognised an addict when she saw one'," Levi told him. He then closed his eyes a second, feeling his hearts beat rapidly as he took a deep breath before admitting, "Oswald… I think I've got a problem."_

 _"_ _Huh? How?"_

 _"_ _Well… I'm addicted to crack."_

 _Oswald paused for a few seconds. "Don't take what that lady said to you seriously. And I say it as a joke…"_

 _"_ _No. I do have a problem. I have to smoke the stuff several times a day. I can't go without it. It's been like that for nearly 4 years, I mean… if that's not an addiction, then I don't know what is."_

 _"_ _Oh…" Oswald muttered, glancing down at the nearly half empty bottle in his hand, "I guess… I've got a problem too."_

 _"_ _Mhm," Levi nodded, "It's okay though… I'm sure we'll get help one day…"_

 _…_ _.._

"Huh… so that's… everything that happened…" Jack contemplated, "Thank you for telling me… I guess… I'll go now…"

"Are you going to tell Sharon or Lacie?" Levi asked.

"Well… Oz has probably told them by now."

"It's fine," Oswald spoke suddenly, "I'll tell them. I'll admit what I did."

Jack simply accepted it, leaving the room and heading straight back to his room. He wanted to tell Oz everything, and thank him. But, at the same time, he just wanted to sleep.

Meanwhile, back in the lounge, Levi and Oswald had fallen into an awkward silence.

"I'm surprised you told him everything," said Levi.

"I didn't have much of a choice. He'd forever want to kill me if he didn't know the truth."

"Just give it a bit of time. I'm sure Jack and these mystery siblings will eventually kick your ass for everything you did."


	19. Chapter 19: On My Own

_**(A/Ns: Wahaha, it's 1am where I am and I'm underneath my covers on my laptop, but oh well! So this chapter is less of the backstory stuff and more back to the mental illnesses I guess? The next chapter is very long and depressing with a lot of flashbacks, so here we are. Now, they may appear OOC, but trust me; they're not. Elliot is often shown to harbour great concern for Leo in the manga, whilst Leo has been shown to often give up and get emotional when things get too intense. Also, I've done my research on Marinol, so if you want to look it up further then you can.**_

 _ **Please review! You guys have been amazing and I love all the support coming from you. As for my reviewer's questions, your theory on why Lacey was killed is indead correct, and your other question regarding Alyss and Alice will be answered in ch21.**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: strong descriptions of eating disorders, medication, suggestive sexual scenes**_

 _ **Disclaimer: *sighs* I'm getting sick of this now... I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Nineteen: On My Own~**

"Leo?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay today?"

"What?"

"I don't know," Elliot wondered, watching the noirette read on the bed across from him, "You just seemed a bit… off."

"Oh. I didn't realise."

"Whatever. Let's go to lunch."

…..

 _Yesterday morning…_

Elliot and Leo were walking back from breakfast, chatting idly as they strolled down the corridor. Just as they passed Lacie's room, they saw the door open, and she stepped out, jumping slightly at their sudden appearance.

"Oh, right. Leo," she started, "Can I speak to you a second?"

He nodded hesitantly, following her back inside her office and leaving Elliot to return to their room.

"Okay, so am I correct in thinking you've been taking the Marinol for about a month now?"

Leo nodded again, not too keen on the idea of actually speaking.

"Alright. And you've been taking them in the morning?"

To no surprise, Leo nodded.

Lacie sighed, "Can you please answer my questions with words please? Anyway; have you taken this morning's tablets yet?"

"Um, no," he replied reluctantly.

"Right. So I've been told that you've been following your diet plan for a while now," Lacie explained, "Is there any particular reason?"

"Well… the medication made it really painful if I didn't eat…" Leo mentioned quietly, "It messed with my head a bit, and made me actually _want_ to eat."

"That was the point," she deadpanned, "Anyway, and here's the important question; have you purged at all since being put on the medication?"

Leo shifted uncomfortable, "Um… I did the first night… and then managed to stop myself somehow for the next night but then started again for the next two nights or so… I haven't since then because it's too painful. I… can barely do it."

She smiled, "Well done. Okay, so what we're going to do is take you off your medication. As much as it has helped you, we can't have you recovering purely because of medication, because that way, you're not actually getting better. So I'm going to collect your remaining Marinol now, and we'll see how it goes from there, okay?"

"Okay…" Leo responded, even though he didn't seem particularly fond of the idea.

…..

 _Current time…_

"So you got taken off your medication yesterday?" Elliot questioned, watching as Leo picked around at his food.

Leo looked up at him. "Oh, right… yeh."

"So how come you ate yesterday and this morning's meals without problem?" Elliot pried.

"I don't know, really…" he muttered, forcefully eating some of the food in front of him, "It's a bit weird but… I felt like eating then, but now for some reason I feel… _weird…_ "

"Okay… as long as you eat," said Elliot, continuing to eat his own food and diminishing his worries over Leo.

Speaking of whom, Leo had managed to eat about half of his planned meal before reaching his limit. Shakily, he leaned his arm over the table, about to pick up his water as he froze. Despite no one else being able to see due to his glasses, his eyes doubled in size.

"Crap…" he cursed, abruptly launching himself from the chair and racing down the corridor.

"Leo!" Elliot yelled, running after him. He chased him all the way to their room, watching as Leo hurried straight to the bathroom, collapsing in front of the toilet and hanging his head over it. "Are you okay?"

"No…" Leo groaned, leaning one elbow on the edge of the toilet and resting his head on his hand.

Elliot wandered over to him, and found that – to his surprise – Leo did not protest when he pulled his glasses from his face. He held his hair back, crouching down beside him and softly rubbing circles on his back.

The other hung his mouth open, unsure of what was happening. He was used to being sick and all, but not like this. Not where nothing was even coming back up; it wasn't right. His breathing was heavy and ragged as he wretched painfully, finally throwing up.

But it was painful. A lot more painful than when he'd purged previously.

Meanwhile, Elliot (who was still next to him) was forced to sit and watch as he threw up so violently. It looked like agony, and continued for a while, with Leo occasionally erupting into a hoarse coughing fit before being sick again.

After about 5 minutes, it finally came to an end, with Leo panting harshly before collapsing onto the wall next to the toilet.

"Leo! What happened?!" Elliot questioned worriedly, flushing the toilet and watching as Leo stirred, indicating that at least he was conscious.

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but found that he was unable to get the words out. His throat stung like hell, and he'd lost the ability to make proper sounds.

"Ngh…" he whimpered, holding his throat desperately as he pointed his arms at the sink.

Elliot took the hint, pouring him a glass of water and passing it down to the other. He gratefully took it, slowly drinking the liquid in hope that he'd regain his voice.

"Can you speak yet?" Elliot inquired; watching as Leo attempted to speak and failed, shaking his head, "Ok… do you think you know what the problem is?"

Leo hesitated a little before nodding confidently, getting up wearily and stumbling into their room.

"Be careful," the blonde warned, watching his uneasy steps. Leo continued to where he was going, crouching on his bed and pulling a notebook and pen from his drawer.

Elliot stared as he scribbled something down onto the paper, walking over to the bed and standing in front of him.

A few moments later, Leo held up his handwriting, presenting his reason.

 _I really need that medication the nurses were giving me_

"Huh?" Elliot read over the note, raising an eyebrow. "That medication was addictive?"

Leo shrugged, writing down something else.

 _I think so_

"Well… do you want me to go get the nurse?" he proposed.

Leo nodded eagerly.

"Okay."

Shortly after leaving, Elliot returned with the nurse. He opened the door, Lacie following him shortly after. He'd explained everything so far, which had given Lacie enough time to come to a conclusion.

"I think I know what's happened here," she sighed, "When being used for its proper purpose, Marinol is not addictive unless used for years. Unfortunately, in your case, we had to raise the dosage in order for it to be effective. The medication itself is actually derived from marijuana, but it's very rare that the user will actually get addicted to it."

"So wait," Elliot interjected aggressively, "You put him on a potentially addictive medication?!"

Lacie glared at him. "We had no way of knowing this would happen. I apologise, though. The withdrawal shouldn't be too bad, but if the nausea means you can't eat for a couple of days then so be it."

"And what about losing his voice? How did that happen?"

"Well, the Marinol is still residing in his system, meaning even though he was nauseous, his body was still trying to prevent him from being sick. Unfortunately, when he did throw up, it occurred in a manner which hurt his throat. But that should be better soon enough. Just get plenty of rest, okay?"

Both Elliot and Leo nodded, watching as Lacie left the room.

They remained in silence for a bit, as Leo lay back against his pillow, his body trembling. Elliot sighed, wiping some of the sweat away from the other's forehead. Carefully, he sat down on the bed beside him.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Leo shook his head immediately, writing down something onto the notebook with a spare hand.

 _It hurts_

"What hurts?"

 _Everything_

"Well… is there anything in particular I can do to help?" Elliot asked, hoping he wasn't completely useless.

The noirette thought about it for a few seconds, before shaking his head against the pillow. Elliot watched as his entire body shook, and he was sweating and shivering painfully at the same time. He observed how his hip bones protruded at his waist; how he looked so frail.

It was at that moment that something clicked in his mind.

"Leo… I need to talk to you about something," Elliot announced suddenly, pulling his feet up onto the bed and crossing his legs. After hearing his name, Leo had turned his head to face him, still lying down as he listened to Elliot speaking, "I don't care if all you can do is write. I think you'll be more honest that way, actually."

Leo didn't respond, only stared straight at Elliot in order to let him know that he was listening.

He continued, "Well… ever since a while ago, when you collapsed, and we, well… _you know_ … anyway, you told me you wouldn't purge anymore. But… even though you've been eating all your meals without fuss… it seems strange that, you haven't actually gained much weight…"

At that comment, Leo frowned, lazily picking up the pen and letting Elliot know that what he'd just said was triggering.

 _Much?_

Elliot read it, immediately recognising his mistake. "Oh… no, Leo! I-I didn't mean it like that! What I m-meant was… that you're not as dangerously thin. You know… the type which makes everyone worry that you'll die… because it wasn't healthy. I just meant that after going on the medication… you just seemed to look a bit better; like you had a little bit more life in you."

Leo nodded slowly, finding that he could finally accept that what Elliot had said wasn't supposed to be offensive. After the short pause, he waved his hand in a rotated motion, gesturing for Elliot to continue.

The blonde sighed, shutting his eyes and moving his head down, "Leo… you never stopped, did you?"

He froze at the question, not sure if telling the truth was really the best thing to do.

Nevertheless, Elliot continued, "I have no evidence. I never caught you, but… I find it hard to believe that you just… stopped."

After a few seconds of consideration, Leo wrote something else down on the paper, turning it around to Elliot before retreating his hand and placing it on his stomach.

 _Will you get mad at me if I tell you the truth?_

Elliot shook his head straight away. "No. Did I sound annoyed when I asked if you'd continued? Look, I know that even if you knew it was killing you, you'd find it hard to just stop like that… so I'm ok with it."

Just before replying, Leo shot Elliot an uneasy face, shifting uncomfortably and scribbling something down onto the notebook, tearing off the sheet. He dropped the sheet onto the bed, standing up abruptly and waddling into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

"Huh?" Elliot asked himself quietly, picking up the note and reading it.

 _Oh shit  
This is going to be embarrassing _

"What…? Jeez, he actually swore…" he thought aloud, walking over to the door and knocking on it, "Leo? What's happening? Are you being sick again?"

There was a large slam on the opposite side of the door, which sounded a like Leo had smashed his fist against the door. Shortly after, a piece of paper was slipped underneath the door.

 _No  
Can you please move away from here?  
It's getting nasty in here_

Elliot stared down at the paper, confused. "Eh? What do you mean?"

He pressed his ear against the door, but failed to hear exactly what was going on in there. Suddenly, there was another _bang_ , and the door shook slightly. Elliot figured that Leo must have kicked the door pretty aggressively, and could almost hear his irritation when he received and read the next note:

 _UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU ATTEMPT TO LISTEN TO ANY OF THIS!_

Finally respecting Leo's request, Elliot reluctantly moved away, traipsing across the room and sitting back down on Leo's bed.

About 5 minutes later, the door opened again, and Leo stumbled out looking drained. He made sure to shut the door properly, walking back over to his bed and collapsing straight down onto the mattress; laying his head on the pillow and sighing.

 _Sorry. That was pretty disgusting_

Elliot – who had finally caught on – laughed a little, "its fine. Although, am I right in thinking I probably shouldn't go in there for a little while.

Leo smiled up at Elliot.

 _I wouldn't if I were you_

"Heh, anyway," Elliot's facial expression shifted from being entertained to dead-serious. "You told me you'd tell me the truth. Have you purged ever since collapsing?"

Leo's pen hovered hesitantly over the paper, but he gave up shortly after, simply nodding his head sheepishly and looking away from Elliot.

"Hey hey," Elliot frowned at Leo's sullen and depressed face, climbing onto his knees and leaning over to him. He placed a hand underneath his chin, forcing his face upwards to look at him in the eyes. The blonde could feel the other shake within his hold as he helped him sit up. "Look at me. I'm not mad. It's fine. I understand that this is really hard for you. I don't care that you went back to it after promising me you wouldn't, okay? So don't… worry, so much about that stuff, okay? Because it doesn't matter to me. I can tell you're getting better, so it doesn't matter of it takes a little longer than expected. So… just tell me… what happened?"

Towards the end of his speech, Leo had lost the ability to hold back his tears, and had given up, letting them fall down his face in streams of regret. He started writing on the notebook, before tearing it off and handing it to Elliot.

 _The first night after we did it, I somehow managed not to do it. But after that I couldn't stop.  
I had to purge every night. I couldn't see how that would change_

Once Elliot had finished reading the first note, another was sent his way by Leo, who was writing fairly quickly in order to get this over and done with.

 _I tried to resist it, but that was too hard. No matter what happened, no matter what anyone said, I still did it. I knew it was killing me, I wanted to stop  
I couldn't _

Sure enough, another strip of paper came his way.

 _When they moved me out of your room, I continued doing it every night. I guess one of the people in the room saw me and told Lacie. She put me on medication, saying it was their last resort  
Once I'd been put onto the medication, I still purged for the first couple of nights _

Elliot looked up to see that Leo had taken a break from writing, gesturing to the most recent note and saying; "Surely it would've been painful?"

Leo nodded and started writing again.

 _At first it wasn't. I stopped for one night again, telling myself I'd end up killing myself if I did  
The next night I couldn't stop, but it was so painful that I didn't do it for the next week. _

Elliot nodded, being given another piece of paper afterwards.

 _I managed to stop for a few days, mostly because the medication was messing with my head  
I tried again two weeks ago, but my body was already onto the pills fully by then that it was too hard  
I did manage to make myself sick eventually, but stopped myself_

Leo had run out of space on that page, quickly passing it to Elliot and finishing the sentence on another sheet.

 _by telling myself that you didn't want me to die  
And that you'd been be disappointed if I continued _

"Oh…" Elliot almost felt guilty; like he was the reason Leo was pushing himself so hard. "So you've gone two weeks clean?"

Leo smiled, making eye contact with the blonde for the first time in a while.

Elliot couldn't have been happier. "I… I'm so proud of you. We've been here for a while now, but… thank you."

The noirette lay down again, resting his head on the pillow as he wrote something else down onto the notebook, turning it towards Elliot when he was complete.

 _It was hard but  
I do feel slightly better now that I'm not on the verge of death_

Elliot blushed a little, mentioning, "Yeh, and trust me, when you're feeling better… I'll definitely make this up to you."

…

 _Two days later..._

Elliot collapsed backwards onto the bed next to Leo, both of their faces flushed as they panted, desperately trying to regain their breath again.

Leo sighed, "Ah, I'm glad I'm feeling better now…"

"Good…" Elliot breathed heavily, "I'm glad you're finally recovering."

To his surprise, Leo didn't respond. Instead, he stopped making a sound, turning his head away from where Elliot was laying and looking at the adjacent wall.

"Leo?" he panted, propping himself up on an elbow and trying to get the other's attention, "Where's this come from?"

Leo didn't answer, only turned his body to lie on his back and stare straight up at the ceiling.

"Hey," Elliot pestered him, "What's up?"

"You say I'm recovering but…" Leo sniffed, tears leaking from his eyes. He pulled his sleeve over his wrists, wiping his eyes and shielding his face from Elliot, "I'm scared… that I won't be able to do this on my own."

Elliot sat up, pulling his pants back up and straddling Leo's waist, leaning down towards him and wiping the tears from his face. "I'll tell you what. Next time you feel like making yourself sick, just tell me. I probably can't do much, but at least you won't be alone."

Leo still looked uneasy. "I-It usually happens at night."

"I have an idea then," Elliot declared, "Just sleep in the same bed as me. We've already done that kind of thing twice, right? And that way, if you get up in the night, I'll know, and I'll stop you somehow. Because, I'm not losing any more of the people I love…"

"Huh?" Leo stared up at him with wide eyes, "O-okay… I guess I like the sound of that."

Elliot smirked, switching the lamp beside them off and getting back under the covers.

"Hey," he whispered, just as Leo was drifting off to sleep.

"Hm?"

"You're feeling okay right now, right?"

"Heh, even if I wasn't," Leo chuckled, "I'm not even sure I'm able to walk after tonight."


	20. Chapter 20: Surrender

_**(A/Ns: Its late on Friday again, so ill make this quick. This chapter is sooo long (6000 words) but all the chapters from here through to 23 will be long, as some more characters pasts will be explained through flashbacks, so get ready for more depressingness in ch 21 and ch 23 (ch 22 will be some comedy dw) I plan to finish this at 25 chapters, but I'll talk about that nearer the time. So yes, in this chapter, Reim returns, and we learn about Break's always tragic backstory.**_

 _ **Trigger warnings: Swearing, drug use**_

 _ **Please review! I love hearing from you guys and it means so much that so many people have enjoyed this up to this point; I never would've got this far without your motivation.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Twenty: Surrender~**

It had been a few days since Oswald and Levi had told Jack the entire story of Lacey's death, and they were both feeling drained because of it.

A little bit after the incident, the two had gone to see Sharon about everything, including what was currently going on with Jack. Even though she was standing in front of a murderer, the blonde still didn't seem too bothered by everything, simply thanking them for telling her the truth and sending them back to their room. Once they'd returned, the room had been filled with an eerie silence, and so no one had questioned any of it since then.

Unfortunately, that awkward atmosphere still remained.

No one had been speaking, with Levi and Oswald still moping. Rufus had been acting fairly normal (well, what was considered 'normal' for him, at least), and so was the only person who actually noticed that Break had been acting unusually reserved, rarely communicating with anyone.

The first person to break the silence was Lacie, opening the door and walking in.

"Woah, guys," she smirked, shutting the door and leaning against it, "What's with the awkward silence in here?"

"None of us wanted to speak," Levi groaned, his face buried in the pillow as he lay across the bed lifeless, "Simple as."

"Even you, jeez," Lacie joked, and then switched her tone to serious, "Alright then, I'll just cut to the chase. As you know, we've been examining all four of you since being admitted to this centre, just to check your health to make sure there will be no permanent health consequences. Recently, we got the test results back."

At the mention of the test results, Levi and Oswald both froze internally, sitting up hastily and paying attention to her. Rufus stayed right where he was, never once removing his eyes from the book he was holding. Break also didn't move, and only remained lying down, still facing the wall with his back to the rest of the room. His body was static, and no one in the room could even begin to guess what he was thinking.

"Okay, so, I'm going to speak to you all now privately outside the room, and just tell you what the results said. I can run through possible treatments, but," Lacie shifted uncomfortably, "There's not much we can do for most of you… Anyway, can I speak to Rufus first?"

Rufus nodded, standing up without hesitation and leaving the room after Lacie. He wasn't too bothered, especially since he knew that he (or rather, his family) had the money to pay for treatment for nearly anything.

"Okay, I chose you to pull out first simply because you are the only one who won't have the effects of the drug residing in you forever," she explained, pulling out an envelope and handing it to him, "All the tests came back fine enough. The only slight issue is a remote break down of your septum, but that will almost certainly repair itself over time."

"Alright," Rufus muttered, not looking at any of the sheets, "Is that all?"

Lacie glared up at him. "Watch your attitude. Even though you currently insist on denying it, Sharon and I still believe that you are in the right state of mind to relapse. But yes, that will be all."

Rufus scowled, stepping back into the room without another word.

"Okay," Lacie sighed, poking her head inside of the room and pointing to Oswald, "Out here. Now."

Only slightly intimidated by her attitude, Oswald got up nervously, following her to the corridor. Once the two were out there, she pulled out his files and starting talking. "Right. Unlike Rufus, the rest of you aren't so lucky."

Oswald's conscience filled with dread as he exhaled, "Oh god… just tell me…"

"The main problem with alcoholism is the effect on the liver. Most long term alcoholics will eventually develop liver cancer, or something similar. Whilst there is still a minuet risk of that, your problem is something slightly different. Urine and blood tests, as well as an X-ray, have all shown that you've developed an infection of the liver, specifically knows as cirrhosis. It's not life threatening at the moment, and won't be if you try not to consume alcohol ever again."

"So… what exactly is this?"

"If you continued to drink, the infection would eventually render the liver unable to perform its function, and you'd need a liver transplant. Fortunately, with the exception of your and Levi's relapse fiasco, your abstinence from drinking has allowed your liver to actually start fighting off the infection."

"… Will it ever get better?"

"Ha, nope," Lacie chuckled, "It's permanent, but the only way to control is would be to not drink. If you genuinely don't believe you'll be able to do that, then we can try aversion therapy again, but in the form of medication such as Antabuse."

"Um…" Oswald stuttered, unable to find the appropriate words.

"Don't worry, you'll get more time to decide what you want to do," Lacie reassured him, "That's it for now. Can you send Levi out here please?"

Oswald nodded, and a few seconds later, Levi exited the room.

"So I'm guessing this is the part where you tell me I'm screwed?"

"Pretty much," Lacie responded, handing him the envelope full of test results.

Levi sighed, his shoulders drooping as he slumped against the wall, "Hit me then."

"Alright. There're two things which have affected you. One of them you're not going to be too happy about, but the other… well, knowing you, you might be pretty satisfied; I don't know."

"Just tell me the bad one first," he groaned.

"Okay. After your brain scan, we found that you had permanent damage in two of the blood vessels between your ears and brain, both on the left side. One of them is completely wrecked."

Levi screwed his face up in confusion. "Why the hell has a crack addiction affected my _ear_?"

"The bad chemicals you inhale when you used went straight to your brain," she told him, "Those blood vessels won't repair themselves. You've now got a higher possibility of becoming deaf, or having a stroke at a young age."

Levi gulped, his voice edgy but sarcastic, "Oh… great… What's the good bit then?"

"Well… your drug intake also means you're infertile now."

"And that means I can have sex without using protection?" Levi's eyes widened at the suggestion.

"If you really want…" Lacie raised an eyebrow at him, "But based off what I've heard, I recommend you get tested for STDs."

"Nah. I think I'm good."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Let's go back inside."

The two of them stepped back into the room, Levi resuming his moping and lying back down onto the bed.

"Alright then," Lacie spoke up, "Break; can you come outside?"

There was no response from the lifeless body facing the wall; not even the slightest movement in his position.

Lacie had noticed that he'd got less and less cooperative in their individual therapy sessions, and knew that, eventually, he'd come out with it. She sighed, "Rufus, Levi, Oswald; can you guys please leave the room and go somewhere else for the time being?"

Rufus stood up without a word, doing exactly as he was instructed. Levi and Oswald followed him; pretty sure they heard him muttering discrete insults about Break as they all sauntered off to the library.

Once she was sure they'd all left, Lacie walked over to Levi's bed, sitting on the edge and facing Break. His back was still turned, and his face was completely covered by his hair.

"Break, I know something's going on," she said firmly, "I need you to talk about it."

No reply.

"Fine, but I need to tell you the permanent effects of your heroin addiction," Lacie countered.

After a few seconds, Break finally replied, his speech shaky and almost inaudible, "I… I don't want to know…"

"I can understand that… but you need to know this stuff. 5 years is a very long time to be addicted to heroin, and I think it would be best if you knew what it had done to you."

"Fine… just tell me. I'm guessing you'll shut up sooner once you have," he commented, his tone hostile.

"If you keep showing that kind of attitude, you'll eventually have to explain to me what's going on," she frowned, "But if you insist, I'll tell you straight away. Firstly, from the brain scan, we found that you had a 7% decrease of white matter in the brain. That part controls part of your behaviour, and unfortunately, this means that the way you think and act will be permanently changed. Also, you always injected into your left arm, correct?"

The only response was a slight nod from Break after a moment of hesitation.

"Right, well, you've got 3 collapsed veins in that arm. They won't be able to repair themselves. And, that leads to an increased chance in heart failure, as well as infection," she explained quietly. After a short pause, Lacie sighed again, looking down at his frozen body sympathetically. "You want to get out of here, don't you?"

"… I don't want to do this anymore…" Break finally admitted. Lacie watched as his entire form trembled. "… I give up."

She stood up, stepping forward and looking over to try and get a look at his face.

All of a sudden, his body jerked sideways, and he swung his arm blindly around, whacking Lacie on the hip and shoving her backwards.

He furrowed his eyebrows at her, fully sitting up now but still with his head faced downwards as he yelled, "Don't look at me! Just… just stay away from me!"

At that moment, before he could stop himself, Break turned to face her, eyes widening once he figured she'd seen it.

To be honest, it almost made him glad that he was partially blind; just so that he couldn't see the disgusted expression on her face.

"Break… your eye…" She continued staring in astonishment at him. "Y-you made it bleed…" she noticed, acknowledging the blood on his hand and pillow, which was currently dripping down his face.

In his haste, Break quickly turned away, failing to hold back as the tears of frustration streamed down his face.

"I can't do this…" he cried, watching as the blood and tears pooled on his sleeve as he attempted to conceal his face, "I've had enough… I want to get out… I… I never wanted to stop in the first place!"

"Break, calm do-"

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down!" Break screamed back, gripping the edges of the sheets, "It… it's painful! I need that stuff… I don't care if I get addicted again! I don't care if I die from an overdose! I don't care if it ruins my life! I… I don't care if my best friend has to watch me get controlled like this! I'd do anything… to get some of it right now!"

Lacie sighed, watching as he continued crying, pulling on his hair violently as if he was trying to rip it out. She knew he'd end up hurting himself unless they did something about him.

"Don't move, and don't try and go anywhere else," she told him, walking out of the room and rushing off to the infirmary. She searched a few of the drawers, before finding what she needed and walking back to the room barely a minute later.

The second she returned, Lacie noticed how Break was still sat up on the bed, crying his eyes out and whispering curses to himself.

"Break, if you don't stop this I'll have no choice but to sedate you."

"Y-you don't understand! I can't do this! I give up… I…" he stuttered, voice cracking strenuously with every word, "I… I'd rather kill myself… than keep doing this!"

Lacie's eyes widened once she registered what he'd said. Not taking the drug had led him to the point of being suicidal. He was a threat to himself, as well as other people. "I'm sorry, Break. But you're unstable right now. I'm going to have to sedate you."

Break sighed, tears streaming down his face as he laid down on the bed, muttering, "I'd rather you filled it with poison so I can… stop doing this."

"We'll talk about this when you wake up," Lacie reassured him, rolling up his sleeve and injecting the sedative. To her surprise, he didn't resist.

Very quickly, he felt his eyelids grow heavy, whispering as he passed out the one thing he had to say at this point; "I'm sorry, Reim, but… I'm done fighting…"

….

Lacie was sitting around in her office, flicking through some of Break's files and trying to figure out why he was struggling so much. They had to find a solution, quickly; at least before he woke up again. Fortunately, she'd managed to think of one thing which may calm him down, but that was still only a possibility at this point.

"Still not many details on his past…" she muttered to herself, turning over the pages, "Addicted to heroin for about 5 years… so I wonder why he's struggling much more than Levi and Oswald? The withdrawal also went wrong… currently on sleeping pills… but there's not much else to note…" Lacie continued talking to the walls, placing a hand onto her forehead, "Ah, Break… what are we going to do with you?"

Shortly after, there was a light but orderly knock on the door, and Lacie's eyes lit up once she realised who it was.

"Coming," she called after them, getting up from the desk and opening the door, "I'm glad you could get out of work for this. We've very grateful for your help, Reim."

He smiled briefly, repositioning his glasses as he replied, "Yes. My boss understood. Although, I'm still a little bit confused on why you needed me here."

"Well, you see," Lacie started, gesturing for him to come into the room, "About an hour ago, when I had to tell him the permanent damage of the drugs, he had a huge melt down, getting aggressive and showing suicidal tendencies. I was forced to sedate him, and he' asleep at the moment," she explained, "The reason we called you is because in therapy, he's made it pretty clear that the only reason he's doing this is because you wanted him to. And, before he passed out, he muttered _"I'm sorry, Reim, but… I'm done fighting…"_ so we thought that speaking to you might calm him down a bit."

"Alright. How long does the sedative usually last?"

"Only a couple of hours, if it's weak which it was. He's resting in the infirmary right now. You know… I know that Levi and Oswald, two other addicts here, are currently in the room. It might be worth asking them about what's been happening," Lacie suggested, "Heh. They're interesting people, that's for sure. But they'll probably be quite useful."

"Okay, thank you for everything," Reim thanked, walking out of the room and down the corridor to his friend's room where he'd been directed to.

He opened the door, walking in to see two guys in there. One of them had short, black hair, and was lying across his bed, dozing off peacefully as he rested against the pillow. On the next bed, someone of similar age with long hair was sitting up, braiding part of his locks to the side in a rather complicated manner.

"And who might you be?" the light haired one asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Oh, I'm Reim Lunettes," Reim introduced, "Uh, Break's friend…"

"Break has friends?" the other joked, raising an eyebrow sarcastically, "I'm Levi," he told him, and then pointed to the person now asleep on the adjacent bed, "And this is my buddy, Oswald. Wake up!"

"Nghn… wha?" Oswald stirred, slightly irritated by the abrupt awakening, "Oh… right, hi. I'm Oswald."

"Disphit," Levi muttered, "I already told him that."

Meanwhile, Reim had shown no interest in the two's bickering; walking straight over to what he assumed was Break's bed and examining the sheets. Concerned, he said, "Is this Xerx's blood?"

"Huh?" Levi responded, turning around to look at where the brunette was, "Oh, yeh. I think so."

"Oh jeez..." Reim sighed, sitting down onto the bed, "Uh, Lacie told me that you'd be able to tell me something about how Break's been acting? I was called here to calm him down, but… he's still asleep, so…"

"Okay… well, he acted fairly normal at first, but then he started getting really depressed, and refused to talk to anyone," Levi explained, watching as Oswald got up and sat on the bed next to him.

"I don't blame him," Oswald sympathised, "5 years is a long time to be addicted to heroin…"

Reim shot him a perplexed look. " _5_ years?"

"Mhm," Levi nodded, "That's what he told us."

"Are you sure?" Reim asked, still confused, "5 years isn't right."

"He's told everyone he was addicted for _5_ years," Oswald repeated, "That's what the therapists and the centre records have it down as too."

"Oh... well, it's wrong," Reim told them simply, "I wonder why he lied…"

Levi stared at the brunette. "… Well? How long was it?"

"Hm? Oh…" Reim answered, counting the years on his fingers, "… 8 years."

"8 _years_?"

"Yes. 8 years."

" _8_ years?"

"Yes. I already told you that," Reim said, slightly annoyed by Levi.

"So wait, you knew him that entire time?" Oswald intervened.

Reim shook his head. "No. I was 18 when I first met him…."

…

 _"_ _Reim Lunettes and Xerxes Break; the two of you will be sharing an office now," their new boss announced, his tone smooth and not too serious, "You'll also be paired up for most tasks since you were both employed at the same time. If you have any troubles, please don't hesitate to ask, ok?"_

 _Reim nodded, taking the files which were promptly handed to him. "Thank you, sir."_

 _The other person, 'Break', didn't say anything, smiling subtly and taking the files before walking down the corridor to their new office. Despite being dressed in their new company's uniform, he still looked scruffy for some reason, with a whole section of his hair dedicated to covering his left eye. He avoided all eye contact, his smile obviously forced._

 _For some reason, something just seemed… off about his aura._

 _Nevertheless, Reim dismissed it, speeding up a little in order to catch up with Break._

 _The two entered the office in silence shortly after, Break picking the desk next to the window and sitting down. Immediately, he dropped his head onto the desk, sighing deeply._

 _"_ _Is…everything okay?" Reim asked, dropping his bag down next to the empty desk and getting himself seated._

 _"_ _Huh," Break muttered, "Hardly."_

 _"_ _Oh… well, what's up?" Reim intervened. He wasn't particularly bothered by what was wrong with him, but at the same time he felt compelled to be concerned._

 _"_ _Now now, Reim~" Break chuckled, lifting himself up and leaning his elbows on the desk, resting his head on them, "Don't be nosey."_

 _"_ _Oh… sorry," he replied, finding the other's reply slightly alarming, but decided against questioning it, "So, uh… how old are you?"_

 _"_ _18."_

 _"_ _Right… same age as me."_

 _The two entered another awkward silence, before Reim chose to break it once again with another one of his pathetic attempts to make conversation._

 _"_ _Um… where are you living right now?"_

 _"_ _In the apartment block just around the corner from here," Break answered nonchalantly._

 _"_ _Oh, that's the same place I live," Reim told him, "What apartment are you?"_

 _"_ _14C."_

 _Reim blinked at him a few times. "… I'm 14D. H-how come I've never seen you leaving the apartment?"_

 _"_ _Well… I only ever left to get the neccesities." Break shifted uncomfortably. "I only got a job because I was running out of money."_

 _"_ _Oh, well, I'm guessing we'll see each other a lot more frequently from now on," Reim countered._

 _He reckoned something was up with Break; he was secretive, very thin and extremely introverted. But he decided not to question it, instead acknowledging that if they were going to be stuck together, they might as well become friends._

 _…_ _._

"So… that's how you met?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Better than our first meeting…" Oswald muttered.

"Yes. We weren't doing much at that company, to be honest. It was just paper work," Reim explained, "I ended up doing his work a lot of the time. That was due to the fact that he always messed it up, and we'd both get in trouble. He was also late quite often. It was… erratic behaviour. His mood fluctuated so much; it was difficult to tell what he was feeling."

"He's been depressed for all that time?" Levi asked.

"No." The brunette shook his head. "It took about 2 years, but I watched him gradually open up and overcome his depression. He was still secretive, but we frequently visited each other's apartments in the evenings. He always refused to go out drinking, though. I always thought that was a bit weird."

"So wait," Levi smirked, "Are you guys like a couple or something?"

Reim frowned at him. "What? No! He's my best friend, but I'm not gay."

"Hold up," Oswald interjected, "And he is?"

"Of course," Reim said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Had he not told you?"

The two of them shook their heads.

Reim continued, "Oh… One thing I've learnt about him is that the more serious the problem, the less he'll talk about it. But, out of all the problems he's had, he's never been secretive about that one. Oh well."

Oswald thought back to a few weeks ago. "Actually, now that I think about it, he did get a bit defensive when Levi insulted the two guys making out."

"Stop trying to make me seem like the bad guy. So," Levi tried to resume the conversation, "When did you eventually find out about his… _problem_?"

"Well, uh…" Reim stuttered, removing his glasses and cleaning them nervously, "It want's until 3 years later, when we were 23 that I found out about it… I'm not going to hide it; he was pretty good at keeping it a secret. He never used when I was around his house… never made eye contact… always kept his arms covered. It's just not what you expect."

"How did you eventually find out?"

"Well…"

…..

 _"_ _Xerxes," Reim sighed, standing up from his desk and putting his coat on, "We need to go now. Stop procrastinating to get out of it!"_

 _"_ _But Reim…" Break whined, lying back exhaustedly in his chair, "I don't see why I have to gooo~"_

 _"_ _It's a company social event. We are required to attend."_

 _Break frowned. "I'd rather just go home."_

 _Reim glared at him. "Come on, Xerx. We don't have to speak to anyone when we're there."_

 _"_ _Fine…" he eventually gave in, "But since you're forcing me to go, you can be the one to go get my bag of clothes from the locker room."_

 _"_ _Ugh, fine."_

 _Reim sauntered off, heading straight to the locker room and getting his and Break's belongings. Just as he picked up Break's bag, he felt a faint prick jab him on the edge of his left index finger._

 _"_ _That's weird…" he thought aloud, checking that no one was around the area before opening the bag and inspecting the items. There were plain black items of clothing, as well as a pair of dress shoes sitting at the bottom of the bag. The only content which was out of the ordinary was a small, black velvet bag, concealed beside the shoes._

 _Even though it was none of his business, Reim still removed it curiously, pulling apart the seal and glancing inside._

 _His eyes widened immediately as he spotted the lighter, syringe and spoon, along with a small bag of pale brown powder._

 _However, instead of freaking out and getting angry like most people would, he just sighed, replacing the contents and holding his head with his slightly shaking hands._

 _Quietly, he murmered to himself, "Oh my… how could I have not noticed this sooner…?"_

 _All of a sudden, everything came together, and Break's frequently fluctuating moods finally made sense._

 _He was on heroin._

 _Knowing he had only one option, he stormed out of the room, returning to the room and flinging the bag at Break, who seemed oblivious to the whole situation._

 _"_ _My my~ What's got you all stressed o-" Break abruptly cut himself off when he noticed how the items in his bag had been displaced. He froze. "… y-you looked through my things?"_

 _"_ _Y-yeh…" Reim stuttered, "I'm sorry but… I felt something sharp, so…"_

 _Break tried to remain calm, but couldn't stop his heartbeat from increasing to the point where it felt like it would just jump right out his chest. "I-It's… uh, well…"_

 _"_ _I know what it is, Xerx…" Reim admitted, "H-how long… have I been in this dark about this?"_

 _Break could barely think straight, his cravings for his fix increasing side-by-side with his nerves. He said in his haste, "Um… well… I was 20… and it was an accident."_

 _"_ _You idiot, Xerx," Reim insulted, shutting the door behind them and leaning against it, "Why the hell would you do something like that? Do you have any idea how bad that stuff is for you?!"_

 _"_ _W-well… as I said, I didn't intend to get addicted… one thing just led to another, unfortunately."_

 _"_ _I won't let you keep doing this. You're getting off it."_

 _Despite knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to do it, Break still sighed, nodded slightly, "Alright… let's just go. I… won't use when I planned to… tonight."_

 _"_ _O-okay…"_

 _The two left in a painfully awkward silence, Reim never hesitating to glance over at Break on the drive and check up on him. He didn't once miss how the other man was desperately trying to conceal the fact that he was shaking._

 _It didn't matter that he was suffering; he had to do it… for his own good._

 _…_ _.._

"… You said 8 years," Levi pointed out.

Oswald stared at him. "Break lied."

"Oh… right," Levi said, realising his own stupidity, "So hang on… what happened after that party?"

"At about midnight, I discovered him throwing up outside the venue," Reim explained, grimacing at the memories, "He claimed that it was because he'd had too much to drink. But I wasn't stupid. Despite having quite a lot to drink, we were both sober. I knew it was withdrawal. Nevertheless, I walked him home."

"He never got of it though," Levi countered, "Did he?"

Reim shook his head, "No. But he fooled me once again. I didn't see him for the days after that, and once I saw him again, he said he'd quit," he paused for a second, "… n-now that I think about it… I should've noticed the sadness in his eyes… when I told him I was proud..."

"So when did you eventually discover the truth?"

"About 6 months later. We were 23 at that point…"

…

 _The brunette casually stalked down the corridor, heading towards the bathroom on his floor. Break had just left, and so he decided to follow, considering they were both about to leave for their lunch break._

 _Just as he opened the door, he was quick to observe that Break wasn't standing by the urinals, like expected. There was one stall occupied, and so Reim just assumed he were in there. However, the faint sound of a flame burning suddenly filled the room, and he automatically prepared for the worst case scenario._

 _Without contemplation, Reim stepped forward, his suspicions being confirmed by the fact that he instantly spotted his friend sitting on the stall floor. With a swift kick, the brunette pushed the door open, watching as the metal slammed into side of the stall with a load crash._

 _"_ _Xerxes!" he yelled, watching as the other stared up at him like a deer in the headlights._

 _"_ _Huh?" Break froze, the needle he was holding up against his arm being snatched away forcefully. He glared at Reim, shouting, "Reim?! I needed that!"_

 _"_ _Y-you said you'd got off it!" Reim accused him, holding the syringe up higher as Break leapt up and tried to grab it, "Look… I get that you're pretty addicted to this stuff, but I'm not giving it back until you tell me the truth!"_

 _"_ _I already told you the truth!" Break growled, feeling himself grow weak as he leant on the counter for support, "It happened 2 years ag-"_

 _"_ _Liar! Tell me the truth now… or you don't get this back!"_

 _"_ _Argh, seriously Reim," he grunted, pressing a hand down hard against his forehead, "I'm not talking about that stuff now! Not in this condition!"_

 _"_ _Then you're not getting this back! You won't get to use!"_

 _"_ _Fine! Just… fucking fine," Break panted, "I… M-my parents were killed… when I was 15. I… I sought revenge… and I got it. I did some awful things, Reim… stuff that no one should ever do!"_

 _Reim stared at him, wide eyed, "What kind of things?"_

 _Break rolled his eyes, "I fucking killed people, Reim! I killed the people who murdered my family! All of them! All of the people who took the most important thing away from me! B-but… I…" His words were tripping over his tongue, tears brimming in his eyes as he continued screaming, "D-despite what they did… I… I still took their life away from them! A life which they still had to live! How else could I live with the weight of all that? I came back into society… when I was 17… completed my exams… but started doing that stuff. I was 17, Reim, I've been on heroin for 6 fucking years! And… and I'm not just going to stop now!"_

 _He'd frozen in shock by the end of Break's speech, lowering the hand holding the needle and dropping it on the counter. "J-just take it… we… we'll go to lunch after you've …"_

 _Reim's words faded at the end of his sentence, leaving the bathroom and walking away to their office. As he arrived there, he sat down tiredly at the desk, resting his head in his hands and saying quietly to himself, "I promise you… Xerx… I'll do whatever I can… to stop you from ruining your life anymore…"_

 _…_ _.._

The room had fallen into a deep silence.

"So…" Oswald spoke almost inaudibly, "He'd killed people… and that's why he started using?"

"Yes," Reim nodded, "About a week after that, everyone figured out he'd lost most of his eyesight, and he got fired. But, they gave him some money, purely because they weren't legally allowed to just sack him for being blind."

"Surely that wasn't enough money to last for another 2 years, right?"

Reim gave him an uneasy look. "I wouldn't have thought so. I… hate to think about what he voluntarily did in order to pay for his habit…"

There was a short pause, before Levi asked, "What happened when he overdosed? When he came here he was still in pretty bad shape because of it."

"Oh… Well," Reim started, "I returned from work one day, a few months ago, and I went to go bring him food. But when I got into his apartment, I found him lying lifeless across his bed, an empty syringe sitting beside his arm… I knew instantly what had happened, and so I called an ambulance straight away. After that, he woke up…"

…..

 _Break stirred, eyes fluttering open slowly whilst the light from the room sent throbbing pains straight through his forehead. His mouth was dry. He felt sick. It took him a little while before he finally remembered what had happened._

 _"_ _W... w-where am I?" he stuttered, his voice hoarse._

 _Immediately, he heard footsteps approaching him, before a low and nonchalant voice told him, "You're in the hospital."_

 _Break panicked straight away. "H-how? I… I thought… I was dead."_

 _Reim shook his head, biting back tears. "I found you… You'd overdosed on heroin."_

 _"_ _Oh… I remember that much… W-when do I get to go home?"_

 _His friend drew a deep breath, saying confidently, "You're not… going back…"_

 _"_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _I… I called a Recovery Centre near here… they have one more place… Xerx… I want you to go to rehab…"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _Reim sighed, "Xerxes. I refuse to watch you do this. Please… for your own sake… even if not for yourself… just do it for me?"_

 _"_ _I… I can't…" Break stuttered anxiously, "I need that stuff… even now, when it almost killed me… I still need it."_

 _"_ _I've been asking you to do this for me for nearly 2 years now… I've been trying to get you off it for 2 years! I've been telling you how bad it i-"_

 _"_ _Fine…" Break gave up, sick of hearing the pity as he was plunged into guilt, "I'll… go…"_

 _"_ _T-thank you…" Reim felt himself collapse against the wall, "You… have no idea how hard it's been watching you kill yourself… for 2 years…"_

 _That was the last straw for Break, as he felt himself break down into tears. Shakily, he placed an arm over his eyes, shielding himself from Reim. He whispered, "I don't want to do this… the withdrawal… everything… W-what if I relapse? What if I can't do it? What if after all that effort-"_

 _"_ _Shh…" Reim smiled softly down at him, placing his hand around his, "You'll be fine, Xerx… I know you'll get by… like you always do."_

 _…_ _._

"And that happened the night before we came?" Levi questioned.

"Yes," Reim answered, "I knew this would be hard for him, but I-"

The brunette was cut off the door opening.

"Break just woke up," Lacie called to the room, "Are you okay to come and speak to him now?"

Reim nodded, standing up and following her down the corridor. As they were walking, she told him, "He seems pretty calm at the moment. Depressed, but calm."

After a short journey warped in awkward silence, the two arrived at the infirmary, Lacie opening the door and allowing Reim inside alone.

Meanwhile, Break had just woken up, his bones feeling heavy from the sedative. Unfortunately, he still remembered everything from a couple of hours ago. As he heard the door open, he froze in shock, his instincts telling him exactly who was there. "Reim…"

"Xerxes," his friend said quietly, sauntering over to where he was sprawled out on the bed and sitting in the chair beside it, "What happened?"

"I…" Break tried to get the words out, but found that he couldn't find a proper explanation, "… Sorry… but, I want to leave…"

Reim sighed sympathetically, "Why?"

"Because… I'm done fighting…"

"Xerx… please don't give up on me yet," Reim pleaded, feeling his inner emotions rise and try to show. But, he couldn't let them become obvious, or otherwise Break… would feel even worse. "I know it's hard… I know you're tired and drained right now. I know… that you were just trying to forget, all those 8 years. But, you're still young. You've… still got a chance in life. You can still get somewhere. I want to see you live your life like you deserve to…"

"But…" Break tried to retaliate, but his breath caught in his throat when he did so, "I… don't deserve this life…"

"No. You do," Reim countered, "The stuff you did in the past… it doesn't matter now. Don't dwell on the stuff which you can't change. You can't get back what you've already lost," he said sadly, and then chuckled lightly, "You know, life isn't a cigarette, so don't drag on it. Smoking is bad for you…. Sorry; I know that sounds cringey. My father used to always say that to me, that's all."

"But… it's so hard to resist just giving up…"

"Xerx, please. It'll get better. I need you not to give up… for me. Even if I sound selfish, I don't care. Just do it for me. Use me as your punching bag; you're emotional dump; your only motivation to keep living. I don't care if you just use me like that, because I'd do anything to watch you be happy again." Reim paused, glancing down at Break and his emotionless expression, "So… can you do that for me?"

Break gulped, smiling truthfully as he said, "I… I can do it, Reim… I can live my life… like I should be. I want… to get better. I want… to keep fighting!"

 _ **(A/Ns: Because we all know Break can be a stubborn brat at times. Until next time~)**_


	21. Chapter 21: Metaphors

_**(A/Ns: Wahaa! I haven't updated in over a week because I am crap! Yes, I know the last chapter was depressing asf, and sorry for making some of my amazing readers cry. So here's more depressing stuff! Ya, more of two people's past, and more flashbacks. Also, once again, its really long. But, all the chapters at this point up until ch 24 will be long, as they are covering everyone's past. Ahh! This is coming so close to the end. As for this time section, this is the last we see of Gilbert and Vincent; same applied to Break in the previous chapter. The next chapter I hope will sum up some of the main points for the main storyline, and then 23 will be another person's past. Finally, yes, I stole some quotes from the manga.**_

 _ **Also, another thing: THANK YOU SOOOOO FRICKIN MUCH FOR OVER 1000 VIEWS! This is the first one of my fanfics which has ever been this popular so thank you so much to all my readers!**_

 _ **Please review! I love all of your reviews; they keep me so motivated. Also, please don't hesitate to ask me about the story if you get confused, because I know some of it isn't immediately obvious.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Twenty-One: Metaphors~**

"Hey! Jack!"

Jack turned around to see Oz running after him down the corridor, stopping in his tracks. "Oh, hey Oz. I was just heading back to the room now."

"Same~" Oz chimed, grinning up at the taller blonde, "So, how've ya been, since, you know…"

He shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Therapy's been helping, but I still get night terrors occasionally. But, it's been two weeks now, and well, there haven't been any accidents, have there?"

"No, I guess not," Oz smiled up at him, "I'm really glad you're doing well now."

"Thanks," Jack replied, his smile quickly fading as he looked down to Oz right before they entered their room, "You know, I'm not the only one who struggled; you shouldn't try to forget about your own problems just by telling yourself everyone else is worse off."

Oz faced the floor, unable to look into his eyes. "I-I guess… I know that."

"Good," Jack laughed, ruffling the other's hair, "Let's go."

The two walked into the room, noticing that Gilbert and Vincent were already in there. Gil was lying on his bed, stretched out on his front with his face buried in his crossed over arms on the pillow. Vincent was kneeled beside him, annoyingly poking his face in an attempt to get attention.

"Gil?"

No reply.

"Gil?"

Still no reply.

"Giiiiiiiiiillllllllllllllllllllllll."

 _Still_ no answer.

"Gi-" Vincent went to repeat the other's name for what was most likely the hundredth time, but instead looked up, spotting Jack and Oz, "Oh, hi."

"Uh, what's wrong with Gil?" Oz asked curiously.

Vincent frowned, pushing himself up off of the floor and approaching Oz and Jack. Subconsciously, the two edged back discretely. He stated simply, "I don't know. I think he's depressed."

"Yeh, no shit…" Gil murmered from the bed.

"Ummm…" Oz pondered, unsure of what to say, "Why, exactly…?"

"I already said; I don't know. I just got back from therapy to find him moping," Vincent explained, his tone slightly hostile towards Oz, "I tried helping him feel better, but, something tells me that he wasn't too grateful…"

All of a sudden, Gil looked up briefly, glaring at Vincent and muttering, "No… when someone tells you to piss off, pestering them continuously is _not_ very helpful…"

Vincent shrugged, turning back around to Oz and gesturing to his brother. "See?"

"Yeh…" Oz responded, "I think I get it now… I'm gonna go outside a bit, before they set the curfew."

"Oz? Are you alright?" Jack questioned. From what he'd learnt after the first couple of months, Oz tended to be very open about things, and so Jack deemed his behaviour as strange and off-putting. Suddenly, however, it clicked in his mind just as Oz left the room, "Ah, shit… how could I not realise?"

"Huh?" Vincent turned towards him.

"Well, whenever Oz hears those voices, he isolates himself…" Jack explained quietly, making it so that Gilbert didn't hear, "His favourite place are the swings. I've found him there several times crying to himself."

"Great," Vincent said sarcastically, "We've now got 2 insane people having a break down… damn, I need my scissors."

Jack stared at him, muttering under his breath, "I'd make that 3 if I were you…"

"What?" Vincent glared at him, narrowing his eyes threateningly.

"Nothing…" Jack sighed, not wanting to pick a fight with the other right now, "I'm going outside to find Oz."

Before Vincent could reply, Jack turned on his heel, exiting the room and shutting it behind him. As he walked outside into the gardens, he noticed how cold it was. Regretting not having a coat, he silently cursed himself, wrapping his arms tightly around his shoulders and continuing his search for Oz.

After a little more searching, he eventually turned to corner to where the large oak tree was situated. The branches were almost the same size as the main trunk itself, the leaves frozen and scattered across the grass underneath the two swings.

Sure enough, Oz was sitting on the outside one, head lulled against the chain which held him up. Edging closer, Jack was quick to identify the faint sounds of distress as Oz crying.

"Oz?" Jack called quietly, "What happened?"

The other blonde sniffed, screwing his eyes shut desperately and scrunching a hand through his locks. It took a little while, but he did eventually register someone trying to pull him out of this darkness. "S-sorry…"

Jack chuckled, shaking his head, "Oz, you're always telling me to stop apologising when I say I'm sorry for the things I'm not in control of…"

"Yeh…" Oz whispered, pulling his sleeve up and drying his eyes, "I guess I do say that a lot…"

"Mhm. So… what was he saying this time? I-it seems to vary…"

"He…" Oz stuttered, finally managing to open his eyes as he glanced down at the ground, "He says that someone like me… shouldn't have been born in the first place."

Jack only nodded acceptingly. He was desperate to ask why Oz heard these things; if he had any idea of the cause to his schizophrenia. Half of him felt like Oz wouldn't want to talk about it. But, Jack couldn't help thinking that Oz should open up to him, considering he did the same. Nevertheless, he didn't ask about it.

A few moments later, Oz and Jack both looked up at the sound of crunching leaves. They both spotted Vincent strolling across the garden towards them.

"What're the chances that Gil told him to leave?" Oz whispered, grinning up at Jack.

Jack laughed, replying quietly, "I'd say the odds are pretty high."

Without saying a word, Vincent approached them, collapsing forward onto the tree trunk and falling to the floor. He crossed his legs, pulling the same lippy face of a toddler as he continued sulking. He said childishly, "Gil told me I was being annoying."

Oz and Jack didn't say anything, except shooting each other side long glances as they discretely winked.

"You really don't know why he'd acting so apathetic?" Jack questioned again.

"No, and he won't tell me," Vincent pouted, "Usually when he's mad it's my fault though. Although… to be honest, I never understood why he found me so irritating."

Oz rolled his eyes. "Maybe you just need to think a little deeper…"

"Hang on," Jack changed the conversation, knowing that Oz's secret insult might not bring a very positive reaction, "You said he gets mad at you a lot?"

Vincent looked up, nodding. "It's always my fault."

After a few more seconds of silence, Oz jerked his head to the side, staring at Vincent quizzically as he asked, "What actually _did_ happen in the last 5 years?"

"Huh?"

"Well… Gil left all of a sudden 5 years ago. Neither me nor Ada knew where he'd gone. And then… 5 years later, he appears here. But, he's depressed. I mean, he was always a massive cry baby, but he wasn't depressed or anything. He's got this mysterious brother… he smokes… I just feel like I missed out on a massive section of his life…"

Vincent frowned, knowing there wasn't much he could do about. "Alright… I'll tell you. But only because Gil would probably want me too…"

….

 _"_ _Vincent…" Gilbert said quietly, looking around the corridor at the apartment block they'd just arrived at, "Where the hell are we?"_

 _"_ _This is where I live," he explained, "Our parents left me some money before they left. Oh, and something else; just so that I wouldn't get lonely without you."_

 _"_ _It's not my fault you guys abandoned me," Gil retorted._

 _"_ _It was their decision," Vincent muttered, unlocking the door to his apartment and letting his brother inside, "I'm glad I finally found you."_

 _"_ _Err, yeh…" Gil responded hesitantly, "To be honest… when I got that letter, I couldn't remember who you were… but eventually, I remembered, and I had to leave Oz."_

 _"_ _Well," Vincent grinned, "It did take me a while to track you down…"_

 _Gilbert stared at him, slightly terrified. "That's… um…"_

 _"_ _That doesn't matter," Vincent dismissed, leading Gil further into the apartment and sitting onto the sofa, "I need a drink. Echo?"_

 _For a little bit, Gil thought that his brother was talking to the walls, wondering whether being alone since the age of 12 had turned him insane. However, his theories were diminished when somebody appeared from behind the curtain a few seconds later. It was a small girl, with short white hair tied up by a blue ribbon and a blue jumper and shorts. She looked like a doll, her nonchalant expression displaying nothing but melancholy._

 _"_ _Echo is here," she stated plainly, no change in her face whatsoever._

 _"_ _Go get me a drink," he ordered. Immediately, 'Echo' bowed her head, quickly leaving the room and heading to the kitchen._

 _"…_ _Who was that?" Gil asked suspiciously._

 _"_ _Echo. She's my foster sister."_

 _"…_ _Huh?"_

 _"_ _Right before our mother and father left to go die or something, they bought me her as company. I was 12, and it was just after you'd disappeared," the blonde explained._

 _Gil stared at him, "… 'Bought her'?"_

 _"_ _Yes. What of it?"_

 _"_ _Vince, she's a real person; not just some doll!"_

 _"_ _Oh please, she can't do much except what I tell her too. She's useless. I'm the one who gave her a home. And so she gives me dolls to dismember."_

 _He edged away subconsciously, defensively holding his arms up. "What?"_

 _"_ _Oh right," Vincent stood up, walking over to the small table secluded in the corner of the room and picking up a pair of scissors. He held them up to the window, the sunlight reflecting off of the silver. He then smirked, returning to the sofa and retrieving one of the stray dolls, lifting it up. "Look, this is… hmm, what was that boy's name?"_

 _"…_ _Eh?"_

 _"_ _The one who took you away from me."_

 _"_ _Oh… Oz…"_

 _"_ _Right, well, this is Oz," Vincent declared, thrusting the scissors through the neck of the doll and letting the head fall to the floor lifelessly. He then grabbed the stuffing, ripping it out and continuing the decapitation of 'Oz'. "Oh, look at that. Oz is now dead."_

 _Gilbert sighed, "Vincent. That was unnecessary. He gave me a home even when you and our shitty parents decided they didn't want me around!"_

 _Vincent looked genuinely offended by his comment. "I did everything… for you," he sulked, "I wanted to give you a future without someone awful like me."_

 _"_ _Vince… I… stop feeling sorry for yourself."_

 _"_ _It doesn't matter now! As long as Gil stays with me forever and ever then it'll be fine!"_

 _Gil face palmed, shaking his head as he was engulfed into a tight hug from his brother._

 _Did he really have to spend the rest of his life with this guy?_

 _…_ _.._

"So…" Oz exhaled, " _That's_ what happened…"

Vincent nodded. "After that, he just kept moping. It got a bit irritating."

"And that's coming from you…" Oz muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, Vincent heard him that time.

"Ok, you may think you're the hero in all of this, but if I'd have let Gil stay with you any longer, he'd have remembered everything which happened, and he would've just left! Gil might pretend to be strong, but he's really weak inside. He's perfect to me, but… he wouldn't have stayed with you."

"What actually did happen in your past?" Oz queried, "You're making everything seem really dramatic."

"Oh, my bad," Vincent retorted bitterly, "We were abandoned on the streets for about a year. Because of my red eye, street passers and pretty much everyone thought I was connected to the devil. We were abused and thrown to the gutter. But Gil did everything he could to protect me. Eventually, our parents did save us from it all…"

"Why were your parents never there?"

Vincent sighed, "We never really knew."

After a short-lived break in the conversation, Jack interjected, "Back to what you were telling us… How bad did it get after that? I presume it didn't happen immediately."

He shook his head. "It was difficult to spot. I suppose just gradually went downhill once I took him from Oz."

"So what happened next?" Oz continued.

"Well, a few weeks after that, he started smoking…"

…..

 _"_ _Gil?!" Vincent yelled, outraged by the sight in front of him, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"_

 _"_ _Mhm?" Gil turned his head away from the window to look at his brother, puffing out a cloud of smoke as he held up the burning cigarette, "Oh, this?"_

 _"_ _Yes! That!" the blonde screeched, his arms flailing around as he gestured at the cancer stick, "Why the hell are you smoking?!"_

 _Gilbert shrugged, slowly taking another drag, "I dunno. It's relaxing?"_

 _"_ _Maybe! But those vile sticks will kill you! They'll give you cancer and stomach ulcers and bad teeth and all sorts of things which will just end up with you dead!"_

 _"_ _Oh well. Oscar did it."_

 _"_ _That's irrelevant!"_

 _"_ _Just stop worrying about me Vince."_

 _"_ _I can't help it. I want Nii-san to be happy!" Vincent declared, "WHAT CAN I DO TO MAKE YOU HAPPY?!"_

 _"_ _You could leave me to smoke in peace," Gil suggested, breathing in the smoke and exhaling a stream of smoke, lulling his head back onto the window pane._

 _"_ _No," Vincent refused, "Even though this might be your room, it's still in my apartment! The disgusting smell of cigarettes will spread everywhere; even my room! I don't want people who come here to think I smoke!"_

 _Gilbert stared up at him, cocking an eyebrow judgmentally as he asked, "Who's going to be visiting? And going near your bedroom, nonetheless?"_

 _Vincent smirked, "You seem to underestimate me. If I want something, I get it. Nothing will ever stop me from getting what I want. I've shared the beds of many upper-class women who will get me just what I need. Even so, they're all appalling humans, but, I guess all women are."_

 _"_ _Vince, that just makes you sound like a misogynist."_

 _"_ _THAT'S IRRELEVANT!" Vincent repeated, "Look; if you're that desperate for a slow suicide then I can't stop you. But you're not smoking in my apartment!"_

 _"_ _Whatever," Gil shrugged, extinguishing the cigarette in an ashtray and getting up, pulling out a half-empty pack of smokes, "I'm going outside. Bye."_

 _Vincent watched as his brother walked straight out of the room without a second of consideration. Hastily, he turned on his heel, chasing after Gil and grabbing his arm. He whined, "NOOO! Gilllll! I'll let you smoke in here!"_

 _…_ _.._

"And you let him just like that?" Oz summed up, raising an eyebrow at him.

Vincent shrugged, "Well, I didn't want to stop him."

"So, when he kept trying to quit, whose idea was that?"

"Mine," Vincent proclaimed, "My apartment stank like shit."

"Um… so, what happened after that?" Oz asked, idly swinging his legs whilst avoiding eye contact with Vincent, "I mean… two years is a pretty long time to be in the blank."

"He just got more depressed," Vincent informed as if it were nothing, "Although, it wasn't until he was 22 that he actually made it clear to me that it was probably my fault."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well…"

…..

 _It was 3am, the city mostly dead spare a few nightclubs and bars. Barely anyone walked the streets, puddles of rain pooling on the sidewalk besides the deserted road. Gilbert was currently sitting by his window, staring out at the drizzling rain and pitch black sky._

 _Vincent had left at about 7 the previous evening, claiming he would be back before midnight. That was 8 hours ago._

 _Gil sucked the life out of his current cigarette, extinguishing it in the already overflowing ashtray before lighting up another. The window was shut, and he knew Vincent would be mad at him for smoking without the airing the room out. But if he had a problem with it, then he could always try to not stay out all night at god-knows-where with god-knows-who._

 _A few moments later, his bedroom door opened slowly, someone poking their head in hesitantly. That person was Echo._

 _"_ _Do you want me to clear that?" she offered, gesturing to the ashtray sitting on the window sill._

 _Gil smiled, "Yeh, thanks. Sorry about the smoke, by the way."_

 _"_ _Echo does not mind," she said monotonously, "If Vincent accepts it then I have too as well."_

 _"_ _He shouldn't have that much control over you…" Gilbert muttered, slowly dragging on the cigarette._

 _"_ _Echo isn't in a position to say anything against it," the girl shifted uncomfortably, "Even if I'm to be mistreated… or tortured… Echo does not have a right to fight against it."_

 _"_ _Oh… okay… Do you have any idea where he's gone?"_

 _Echo shook her head. "Vincent doesn't tell Echo. It is none of Echo's business."_

 _"_ _Oh," Gilbert sighed, exhaling the smoke and tapping the ash off his cigarette. Echo waited for little while, before taking the ashtray and clearing it as she'd promised. "Thanks."_

 _She bowed her head, turning to leave the room and shutting the door behind her._

 _Gil continued chain smoking for another 15 minutes or so, before hearing the front door unlock and slam shut. He frowned, feeling a migraine evolve as he snuffed out the cigarette and stalked out of the bedroom._

 _Walking past the corridor into the front room, the first thing he saw was his 20 year old brother, staggering through the apartment and trying to lock the door._

 _"_ _Vince," he called sternly, "Why are you so late home?"_

 _"_ _Hm?" the blond glanced up at his brother with lagging eyes and heavy limbs, "Oh… Gil… I thought, you'd be asleep…"_

 _"_ _No. How was I supposed to sleep when you might have been dead?"_

 _"_ _Wha…?" Vincent squinted his eyes, screwing his face up at Gil's predicament. His words were slurred as he suggested, "You don't actually care about me… do you, Gil?"_

 _"_ _Huh?" Gilbert responded, "What do you mean by that?"_

 _Vincent stumbled over to him wearily, avoiding eye contact as he stared at the floor and placed a finger on the other's lips, "Shh… Gil, you know you're better than me…"_

 _"_ _I didn't say that!" Gilbert yelled, throwing his arms up defensively and pulling away from Vincent, "I'm just saying that… t-that… that I'm sick of you staying out so late! Everything I did to protect you… everything I did to help! Risking my life for the sake of your own happiness! You pull me away from my family, then… fair enough… but… but if you want me to stay with you, then you stay with me too!"_

 _"_ _You see, Gil…" Vincent sighed after a short pause, "This is precisely why I want to give you a life without me…"_

 _"_ _H-huh?"_

 _"_ _It's my fault you're depressed; that's just obvious…" Vincent commented, barely walking on his own two feet as he staggered out of the room, "I'd do anything to make you happy… even erase my existence, just to make you happy… You know that, right?"_

 _Wordlessly, Gilbert stood, Vincent slipping away without him noticing and returning to his bedroom._

 _Instead of trying to catch up on his missed sleep, Gil collapsed onto the sofa, lighting up and muttering to himself, "Please say that was just the alcohol talking…"_

 _…_

Oz cocked an eyebrow, asking curiously, "What _actually_ did you do those nights?"

"Hey," Vincent scowled at him, "If I didn't tell Gilbert, then I'm certainly not telling you brats."

Jack and Oz cowered awkwardly, shooting each other sidelong glances.

Oz continued, "So, that was 2 years ago?"

Vincent nodded.

"Well…" Jack interjected after a brief break in the flow of the conversation, "At what point did you send him here?"

"Ooh! Yeh!" Oz chimed, "And how did you end up here?"

"Well… it was me who sent Gil here, but, the reason I'm here… well," he grimaced, "That would have to be Echo's fault…"

….

 _Vincent was currently in his room, sitting cross legged on his bed as he tore up dolls, the stuffing and dismembered parts scattered across the floor. The curtains had also been torn up multiple times; so many times that Echo had given up repairing them once they were shredded. The room was dimly lit, the only hint of light coming from a few stray candles placed precariously on the edges of his bedside table._

 _Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door._

 _"_ _Vince?" a nervous voice calling, the blonde instantly recognising it as his brother, "Can I come in? I… need to talk to you about something."_

 _He turned to face the door, replying, "Yes! Gil! Please come in!"_

 _A few seconds later, the door openly slowing, Gilbert hesitantly stepping inside and closing the door behind him._

 _"_ _What is it?" Vincent continued, "And why can I smell smoke? I thought you were quitting."_

 _"_ _Um… yeh, a-about that…" Gil stuttered, "The cravings got too strong, so…"_

 _"_ _Ah, and what's that? Your eighth attempt?" Vincent commented, "I think you're getting worse, Gil…"_

 _"_ _Well… that's sort of what I was hoping to talk about…"_

 _"_ _Talk away!" Vincent demanded, standing up and dropping what was left of the doll which he was previously holding. He stalked over to the curtains, dragging the scissors through the fabric and staring out the window. "You know that… whatever you do, I'll always love you, Gil…"_

 _"_ _Yeh… well…." Gil started, but found that Vincent's current actions with the scissors were slightly off-putting, "Uh, can you, like… not decapitate things? It's a bit… distracting."_

 _"_ _Oh!" Vincent dropped the scissors, the silver clattering on the wooden floor quietly, "Whatever makes you happy!"_

 _"_ _Okay…" Gil started explaining, still creeped out by Vincent's dedicated eye contact towards him, "Well, I think I'm depressed…"_

 _"_ _Of course you are," he responded, his voice hinted with a slight tone of regret, "It's my fault, that's why I want to give you a-"_

 _Gilbert shook his hand in dismissal, "No… no! Please, don't… blame this on yourself. It's not… I just…"_

 _"_ _Gil; calm down and try to speak normally," Vincent said, "You know I think you're better than I am. You know I won't judge you."_

 _"_ _Um, okay… Vince, I don't want to live like this anymore," Gil told him honestly, "I don't… want to be alive, like this, I'm…"_

 _The blonde's eyes widened suddenly, his face twisting into an expression of shock. "My brother… is suicidal?"_

 _Gil shrugged uneasily, "Well… to an extent, but-"_

 _"_ _Echo!" Vincent cut Gil off, summoning the small child._

 _As expected, she appeared from underneath the bed that instant._

 _"_ _Echo is here."_

 _"_ _Go and find my brother help! Now!" he ordered, more panic stricken than ever before._

 _"_ _Vince, cal-"_

 _Before Gil could finish his sentence, Echo rushed away from the room, proceeding to the phone and dialling a number which she'd memorized a long time ago._

 _They picked up quickly; "Hello, Pandora Recovery Centre speaking. How may I assist you?"_

 _Echo got straight to the point as she said, "I'd like to send two people into your care."_

 _…_ _.._

"What?! She sent you there as well?" Oz asked, his jaw hanging open, "Wow. That was brave."

"Mhm… They gave me a mental assessment when I arrived, and said I had to stay too," Vincent frowned, "Well, that's pretty much everything you need to know."

"Ahh…" Oz sighed, and Jack was struggling to tell whether it was out of relief or sympathy, "Now it all makes sense… why he's here and everything."

"You know, he's always wondering why you're here," Vincent pointed out, "Maybe you should consider telling him."

Oz smiled sadly, "Yeh… maybe I should…"

The area fell into silence shortly after, the sky completely dark and clouded over. No stars were visible, and the entire garden had been warped into darkness.

"It's really cold," Jack commented, trying to start up the conversation again.

"Yeh… I was in such a hurry that I forgot a jacket," Oz added, "I think we should go back inside."

The other two agreed, following Oz into the centre and away from the cold. Once they entered the hallway, they noticed Sharon leaving their room.

"Ah, Vincent. I was just going to look for you," she told him. As much as she tried to sound innocent, something about her aura just seemed permanently intimidating. "I think we should talk about your brother."

"Sure…" Vincent groaned, accepting her request and walking into her office behind her.

"Sharon didn't say we couldn't see him," Jack mentioned, "Are you…"

"Yes," Oz answered before he'd even finished asking the question.

"Um," Jack shifted uncomfortably, "Do you want me to, like, go somewhere else or…"

Oz sighed and shook his head, "No. It's fine. After everything you'd told me…"

Jack only nodded, trailing behind Oz as they approached the bedroom and entered. Before either of them said anything, they heard Gilbert mutter into the pillow:

"Go away, Vince."

"… uh, Gil?" Oz giggled, walking over to the lifeless man and crouching down beside the bed, "It's me, Oz."

"Oh!" Gil realised all of a sudden, "S-sorry…"

"Nah," Oz dismissed, "Heh, it makes sense…"

"Well, yeh…" Gil agreed, propping himself up onto his elbow and ramming a hand into his forehead, "Dammit… sorry. I need a cigarette. I'll… be back in a little."

"I'll come with you," Oz proposed, getting up with Gil and walking out onto the balcony with him, "Jack. Come with me."

The blonde simply nodded, proceeding to the balcony shortly after.

"You know, Gil…" he started, "You're not the only person who's here for a reason… I… should probably tell you, what happened before you came…"

Wordlessly, Gil lit up the cigarette, taking a long drag and shooting Oz a questioning look.

Oz glanced up at Jack, who nodded at him.

He continued, "My… mother died in childbirth when I was born. Ada… she's only my half-sister… M-my father…"

Oz paused, desperately fighting back tears as he grabbed the fabric on the side of his shorts. Jack saw his distress, rubbing his shoulder reassuringly and hinting at him to continue.

"My father told me it was my fault… I grew up, constantly blamed for it. He… he told me that… I shouldn't have been born… and that I should be dead. To be honest, it was just abuse. Ada couldn't do anything except watch me get beaten… she never understood it. Eventually, my uncle got custody over me, and my father… no one knows where he is. That's when you came along…" Oz smiled slightly at the memories, "I forgot about everything he'd told me… of course, those thoughts still resided in me… I just pretended to be okay. But… I'm not okay. And, I know that much now…"

By the end of his explanation, both Jack and Gil were left in silence. However, after that, it was probably better off for them to remain in silence.

Gil continued smoking as he was, Jack and Oz both staring up into the dull night sky.

All of a sudden, something caught Oz's eye. "Hey, guys… look, that star is really bright! Ah… it looks so pretty…"

"Yeh… it does…" Jack agreed, "Well, I suppose… if we're all connected by the darkness, then… is that a metaphor for hope?"


	22. Chapter 22: Conflict

_**(A/Ns: A week, eh? Anyway, this chapter is sad. Yes, yes, very sad and funny. Last appearances of all these characters too. Also, some very discrete hints are dropped as to what happens when they leave. Very sad. So, here we see considerate!Levi and emotional!Oswald. It happens. From the manga, its shown that Oswald go really upset sometimes (death of his sister, crying when he was forced to eat tomatoes) and Levi does care for people when he can be arsed. So, this ended up happening. The next chapter is the last chapter which sets up for the ending, and then ch 24/25 are the conclusions, basically. Anyway, if you have any questions, please ask! They more than likely won't be answered from here on out.**_

 _ **Please review! The amount of people reviewing at the moment makes me so happy, and I love you all! Gah, it makes me sad thinking that this is coming to an end.**_

 _ **Content warnings: drug mentions, alcohol references, swearing, violence, sexual discussions, and lots of blood**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Twenty-Two: Conflict~**

"Jack?" Oz whispered, shaking his shoulder, "Jaaaacccccckkkkkkk!" he whined, still attempting to wake the blonde up.

It was already 10am, and Jack was supposed to be at therapy… half an hour ago.

Oz sighed, knowing full well he'd be in trouble if he didn't get up soon. Besides, for the first time in nearly 3 weeks, Jack had failed to sleep through the entire night without crying in his sleep. And yet, here he was, his chest rising and falling as he continued sleeping peacefully. He carried on, "Jack… seriously, you're going to be late!"

After another minute or so, Jack eventually began to stir, his eyes very gradually opening. Oz smiled and exhaled, "Finally…"

"… huh? Oz, what are you…" Jack started asking, his words trailing off at the end of the sentence as he tried to sit up. Grimacing, he leant his elbow over the side of the bed, laying his head onto his hand and sitting awkwardly. "Oh… seriously… not now…"

Oz titled his head at him in confusion. "What is it?"

"Oh, well…" Jack stuttered, feeling himself blush as he slowly unravelled himself from the bed covers, "I… well, to put it bluntly… I pissed myself again…"

Casually, Oz shrugged, "Oh well. I thought that might happen. You were crying in your sleep last night."

"Was I?"

"Mhm."

"Oh… well," Jack faced downwards, standing up and turning his back to Oz, hiding his front and mentally cursing himself, "I don't remember much."

"Its fine," Oz grinned up at him, "I'll sort this, well… mess out, and you get changed and go to therapy."

"Oh, crap!" Jack cursed, hurrying off to the bathroom. Just before he ran into the room, he turned on his heel, saying to Oz, "Thanks, by the way."

"Its _fine_ ," Oz emphasised, stripping the bed of the sheets and ushering for Jack to hurry up and stop worrying.

…..

Meanwhile, in the group therapy room, Oswald, Levi, Alyss and Alice all sat waiting for Jack to arrive. They'd all been waiting impatiently since 9:30, and were growing increasingly bored by the minute.

Alyss and Alice were currently wrestling on the floor; Alice overreacting after Alyss had slapped her and told her to stop complaining. Sharon, who was sitting at the front of the room, didn't seem at all compelled to stop any of it, simply sighing and wondering how much longer Jack would take to arrive. On the other sofa, Oswald was sleeping contently, annoyed after being woken up at a stupid hour (read: 9am). Finally, Levi was still working on his hair after half an hour of failing to get it right.

After another tedious 5 minutes, the door finally opened, Jack clambering inside and leaning against the door, panting, "Sorry… I… um, Sharon?"

"Yes?" she replied, as innocently as she possibly could.

"Well…" Jack started explaining awkwardly, "… _that_ happened again, so I got delayed. You… get where I'm going with this?"

Sharon nodded, "Yes. I get it. Has Oz seen to the cleaning?"

"Um… yeh…" Jack answered, seating himself in the chair beside Levi.

Sarcastically, Levi scoffed, "Why was cleaning necessary? What did you do; wet the bed?"

Jack felt his face heat up. "Huh?! How did you… what?!"

"Wait, what? You actually _did_?" Levi raised his eyebrow, throwing his arms up defensively. "I said it as a joke. I'll just pretend you _didn't_ get all defensive about it."

"Oh… right…" Jack stuttered, willing his blush to fade away.

"Now, that we're all here," Sharon started, glaring down at Alive menacingly whilst baring the same, irreproachable smile, "Alice, Alyss? Could you please stop fighting?" When she received no response, Sharon shifted her tone discretely to much more bitter, "Now?"

At the order, Alice flinched under the burning gaze, reluctantly surrendering to her instincts and lifting herself from Alyss, who was still sprawled across the floor.

"Thank you," Sharon responded calmly, turning to face Levi, "Levi? Could you please wake up your friend?"

Levi grinned, lifting a hand and yanking hard down on Oswald's hair. "WAKE UP!"

Oswald flinched, "Ouch… Levi… what the- when did Jack get here?"

"Just now," Levi told him casually, "Now don't fall asleep again. That is an order."

"… You're not my master."

"Yes I am."

"…"

"Besides that point," Levi abruptly changed the subject, examining Jack's hair. The blonde had run out of time to do anything with it, forcing him to leave it loose and dangling straight down his back. He continued, "You need to do something with your hair. Now."

Jack stared at him, perplexed, "Why?"

"Because it's messy and annoying me."

"Well… I usually get someone to help me, so…" Jack countered, but Levi interjected before he could actually finish the sentence.

"I'll do it for you," Levi offered, gesturing to the small space beside him on the sofa, "Come sit."

"Well… um…" Jack hesitated, "… sure. Thanks."

Sharon, Oswald, Alice and Alyss all gazed in wonder, watching strangely as Levi continued plaiting Jack's hair contently. Jack himself looked very confused, his face saying something along the lines of _'No, I don't understand what's going on either.'_

Once she'd decided to ignore the two, Sharon stared speaking again, finally beginning their therapy. "Okay, so recently, some of you have revealed some very interesting things, which consequently links all 5 of you. I'd like to begin by asking you to explain how you were related to Lacey."

At the mention of his dead girlfriend, Jack immediately felt himself tear up, his shoulders moving ever so slightly as he refused to let the tears spill.

"Stop moving," Levi hissed at him, "You'll knock me."

"Oh… sorry."

"Anyway, we'll start with you; Jack," Sharon declared, pointing a finger sharply at the blonde.

"Um, Lacey took me off the streets when I was 17. We started going out when we were 20, and then she got killed… when I was 25, about a year ago, obviously." Jack explained, forcing himself not to move and willing his tears away.

"Great," Sharon replied, not sounding very interested, "Levi. Go on."

Levi stated simply. "I met her when I was 20. Got her pregnant when I was 28."

At the bluntness of his explanation, Jack turned to glare at him wordlessly.

"We'll discuss that later," Sharon told them, obviously indicating for them to shut up, "Anyway, Oswald?"

"She was 2 years younger than me, and my full sister. When I was 11, I left to go to Lutwidge. Obviously, I had no contact with her for 8 years because of that. When I was 19, she contacted me. I didn't know the guy she was living with, or his name. And obviously, she never told me anything about having younger sisters. I don't know why that was. Anyway, to put it bluntly, I killed her when I was 27."

"Thank you for the detail," Sharon said, not sounding very sincere, "Finally, Alice and Alyss. Please explain your connection to Lacey."

Alice grinned sadistically, eyes furrowing at Oswald as she screeched, "WE'RE LACEY'S YOUNGER SISTERS, DUMBASS! COULDN'T YOU PUT TWO THINGS TOGETHER AND FIGURE THAT MUCH OUT?!"

Alyss slapped her, "That's not the way to do this," she commented, and then turned to face Oswald, clutching the rabbit plush toy she was holding and smiling bitterly at Oswald, "My name is Alyss, and you must be the lousy deadbeat Lacey was always talking about."

"… Lacey talked about me like that?" Oswald questioned, seemingly not too bothered, "And wait, you two are my sisters?"

"Oh, jeez…" Alice sighed, "We've already explained that! Yes, you're our brother!"

"Oh… right," Oswald stuttered, unsure of what to say, "um… Nice to meet you?"

"Well, it's not nice to meet you," Alyss glared at him.

"And you say I'm not discrete," Alice muttered under her breathe, "Just go back to being depressed."

"Stop being narcissistic" Alyss retorted.

"Also, don't be too mad at the guy," Alice countered, "I mean, Lacey did abandon us when we were 8. I'm not too bothered."

Alyss frowned at her twin, but didn't say anything else.

"Anyway," Sharon continued after waiting patiently, "Now that you all know how you're connected, let's start from the beginning. Oswald, you grew up with Lacey until you were 11 and she was 9, correct?"

Oswald nodded.

"Alright. So, when you were 11, your mother was pregnant. A couple of months after you left, she gave birth to twins, them being Alice and Alyss. Obviously, you didn't have contact with Lacey for a while." She then turned to Alyss and Alice. "Okay, so am I correct in thinking that you grew up with Lacey's care?"

"Yep," Alice confirmed, "She used to cook us really yummy meat!"

"She also told us about our brother too," Alyss added, her tone obviously hostile towards Oswald, "Apparently you abandoned us, and that's why she didn't want you to know about us."

"Well… that does make sense, I guess…" Oswald responded, "What else did she say about me?"

Alice and Alyss both recited the list simultaneously.

"You were lazy."

"You couldn't cook."

"You didn't stop our parents from leaving."

"You left a 9 year old alone to look after twins."

"Wait wait wait wait huh?" Oswald cut them off, a confused expression painted on his face, "I knew our parents _might_ have left, but I didn't know they were pregnant!"

"Oh… well that's what Lacey told us," Alice told him.

"Well… it's wrong."

"How did you know they were gonna leave?" Levi asked judgementally, "Did you have like psychic powers or something?"

"No," Oswald glared weakly at him, "I just overhead them a few times talking about how they would leave Lacey hear whilst sending me off to Lutwidge. I think it was part of the reason they encouraged me to go there. But, really, their reason for leaving was never made clear to me."

Sharon nodded, facing the twins, "Did Lacey ever tell you why your parents left?"

Alice shook her head. "Nah. She never really talked about our parents. Only really talked shit about our brother."

"Do you have any ideas as to why they might have left, or where they might be?"

"Lacey didn't know, so we had no way of knowing either," Alyss explained nonchalantly, "The only time she really spoke about them was telling us that they gave birth to us, and took off a day later. She struggled to raise us, but still managed to somehow."

"They're probably dead," Alice theorised, "I mean, if Lacey could be arsed to go back to the deadbeat brother after 8 years, then you'd expect them to come back."

"Maybe they left the country?" Levi suggested, "Or joined another, less accomplished organisation."

"Nah. They're dead," Alice declared, "I'm certain of it."

"Alright," Sharon scribbled a few things down onto her note book (or at least pretended to) before continuing, "So, Lacey choose to leave you kids when you were 8, correct? And that solitude was the cause of your mental disorders?"

They nodded.

"So, how often did she visit you?"

Alice shrugged, "I dunno, maybe once or twice a year? Always at Christmas though."

"We knew she was with someone else," Alyss elaborated, "I sort of automatically liked them, because I knew they were making Lacey happy."

"Okay, Oswald," Sharon turned towards Oswald, "What was your opinion on Lacey's boyfriend?"

Oswald glared at Jack, answering hesitantly, "I didn't like him… I just thought he led her astray. For some reason, I just got a bad feeling about this guy."

All of a sudden, Levi erupted into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Um… did I say something…?"

"Ahaha… Oswald…" Levi snorted, "I've already said this to you; you can't just go running your mouth about people with no reason! Seriously, if you'd just have been more chill like me back then, you wouldn't have this problem."

Oswald scoffed, "What, so that I could end up addicted to cigarettes instead of alcohol?"

"Oh hang on a minute," Levi frowned at his friend, "I was never addicted to smoking cigarettes. No; things only went downhill when I started smoking crack."

"It's practically the same thing…"

Before the two could continue bickering, Sharon glared at them harshly, successfully bringing their short-lived conversation to a halt without even blinking an eye. She continued, "Anyway, I think we should move onto her death at this point, since obviously, none of you were really aware of each other during the period between her moving away. I think we can safely assume that Alice and Alyss were failing in school with deteriorating mental health, Jack was oblivious, Oswald was being a mopey alcoholic, and Levi was being a whore."

Everyone nodded obediently, with Levi nodding proudly to himself as well.

"Okay, so a few weeks before her death, the affair happened. Firstly, Alyss and Alice; were you ever aware of this?"

"What affair?" the two scoffed simultaneously.

"Wait, she cheated on you?" Alice joked, pointing to Jack, "HA! That's hilarious."

Alyss glared sharply at Oswald. "It was probably his fault."

"Well… technically it was," Levi countered, smirking to himself.

Oswald elbowed him in the stomach. "Shut up, Levi."

"How do you know about it?!" Alice yelled at Levi.

He backed away defensively, "Woah, jeez, chill… it was me, alright? I'm the one who fucked the brains out of your sister."

Failing to hold back the boiling anger within him for any longer, Jack turned around to Levi angrily and shook his head at him. "Do you have to talk about this so bluntly? Do you have any idea was it was like for me?!"

Levi shrugged casually, replying, "Depends. I mean, if you're ever been in bed with that girl, then you'd know why I was chasing after her. Damn… she was good in bed."

"Yes. I know that," Jack deadpanned, "She was my girlfriend, you know. We had slept together!"

"Oh yeh…"

"You know, maybe you should try apologising for that whole ordeal!"

Levi rolled his eyes, sighing, "Jack; I screwed you're girlfriend. No hard feelings, right?"

Before the conversation could make him anymore uncomfortable than he already was (which seemed impossible at that point), Oswald interjected, "Hey, guys. Stop talking about banging my sister."

" _OUR_ sister!" Alyss yelled defensively.

The 5 of them continued bickering for another few minutes, before their 'conversation' was finally brought to an end by Sharon.

Needless to say, she didn't actually have to speak a single word in order to get them to shut up.

"After the affair came her death," Sharon continued casually, as if nothing had happened, "Now, from my understanding, Alice and Alyss thought it was their brother."

Alice nodded, "It had to be him. She was always going on about how crap he was."

"And that he was an alcoholic," Alyss added.

Oswald blinked a few times. "… You guys knew about that?"

"Of course," Alyss responded, "So you can't really blame us for hating you."

"She also said he had a really annoying friend."

Realising who Lacey must have meant, Oswald almost laughed. _Almost_.

"Oh, Levi," he said sarcastically, "I wonder who that could've been?"

Levi was snapped out of his trance, "Huh? Oh fuck… nah, she couldn't have meant me."

"I think she probably did."

"Nope. I refuse."

"You're just denying it now," Oswald accused, "She didn't like either of us, from the looks of it."

"That's not completely true," Alice interrupted them, "One time when we asked about our brother and why he acted like that, she said simply 'It wasn't his fault. I can't hate him for it,' and then changed the topic suddenly."

"Oh…" That was all Oswald could say, lowering his head slowly and facing the floor. "I wonder… what she meant by that…"

"I think she meant that you could've made so much out of your life," Alyss suggested, "But so many things got in the way of that."

Astonished, Oswald found that he was unable to respond. His mind was pushing 101 comments through to his vocal chords, but his mental willpower at that moment was far too weak to actually produce the words. Gradually but surely, his emotions somehow managed to surface, and he immediately felt himself struggling to hold them back.

What was happening? Why did his chest feel so tight?

He felt like crying, but knew that he'd never live that down; especially if Levi saw. All of a sudden, his memories flashed before his eyes, and he found himself contemplating his whole life. Sheepishly, he turned his head away from the rest of the room, facing the opposite wall and shoving his thoughts to the back of his mind.

Realising that must've been rough on him, Sharon decided that the time was right to change the topic once again. She spoke softly, "So, I'm fairly certain that was everything. Is there anything you'd like to ask each other?"

At the opportunity, Alice's hand shot up, and she yelled, "ME!"

Sharon sighed, "Yes, Alice?"

"Well… it's not really a question…" she responded, winking at her twin before leaping out of her seat with Alyss following closely behind her, "GET HIM!"

Instantly, Oswald caught onto what was going on, standing up defensively and shielding himself from the incoming attack.

Alice was first to launch at him first, jumping forward and throwing a punch upwards towards his face. The punch was strong, and the aim was fairly accurate.

However.

Oswald caught the attack firmly with his left hand.

"Huh?!" Alice yelped, struggling under the other's grip and kicking him violently, "How the hell-"

He cut her off swiftly, throwing her weightless body to the adjacent wall with a loud, echoing _crash_.

"Ow!" she yelped, rubbing her forehead and holding her wrist firmly, "Where the fuck did that come from?!"

Oswald refused to answer, keeping on top of his game as he noticed Alyss charging towards him. She, unlike Alice, had slightly more skill to her attack, swinging her body around as she threw a leg into the side of his hip. Tactfully, he grabbed her leg, about to fling her to the side when she flipped over, releasing herself and landing safely on the ground.

"…" He had no words.

Alyss screamed, "YOU KILLED HER!" before leaping upwards to grab the crook of his neck. Unfortunately, her aim was affected by the pure rage dedicated to the attack, and she failed to reach him. Instead, he swiftly grabbed her wrist, and she flinched once more before being effortlessly tossed across the room, landing in a heap on top of Alice.

"Hey!" Jack intervened, stalking over to Oswald. He attempted to seem intimidating, but Oswald's threatening demeanour and piercing gaze lead to him edging backwards subconsciously. He continued, "What makes you think you have the right to do something like that?! Those people are your sisters! They might hate you, but you're the one who killed the only family they had left! The only family _you_ had left! You guys have to stick together! I don't give a crap if that sounds cringey, but when my mother was killed, I was left in the gutter of the streets, praying to be found! I wanted family. And… and it hurts me to see that you take it for granted so much!" Jack's eyes were glazed with tears as he carried on yelling. "You… you had so much… that you could've done with your life… and this was what you chose?! You're in rehab, for fucks sake! Grow up and stop acting like everything you did was okay!"

Eyes pricked with tears, Oswald scrunched his fists up tightly and face the floor as he whispered, "Do you really think… that I'm okay with what I did?"

"Well… yeh…" Jack panted, still trying to catch his breath after his confrontation.

Oswald shook his head, muttering, "So fucking naïve… Do you see where I am now? Do you think I'd have thrown my life away… if I _didn't_ feel guilty?"

Before he gave Jack the opportunity to answer him, Oswald threw a punch straight at his face, smacking him directly in the nose. Jack jolted backwards violently, gripping his bleeding nose. Taking his exposed front as an opportunity, Oswald pulled his foot up quickly, placing it firmly onto Jack's stomach before shoving him backwards strongly. Jack flew backwards, crashing onto the hard floor. His head smashed onto the wood with an audible _smack_ as he collapsed into a heap.

Without batting an eye, Oswald turned away, discretely wiping his eye with his sleeve before storming out of the room wordlessly.

Levi did nothing to help his friend, only watching in awe as the scene before him played out, "

"Woah…" Levi stuttered, sarcastically clapping his hands as he looked down at Jack, "You really hit a nerve there. I've never seen him get so upset about anything in the 15 years I've known him. I've… never actually seen him cry before…"

Instead of replying, Jack could only _barely_ produce strained noises, clutching his stomach in order to keep the food from earlier inside him. Blood was pouring from his nose, and his vision was heavily blurred, most likely due to the blow to his head from the floor.

"Levi…" Sharon exhaled, face palming, "Shouldn't you be helping your friend?"

"Mhmm," Levi wondered aloud, mentally debating whether or not it would safe, "Maybe I should… he must be pretty damn depressed right now if he actually stormed off crying… shit."

Through an immense amount of will power, Jack managed to cough out the words; "Surely his alcohol… withdrawal would be… killing him right now…"

Levi shot him a confused expression. "Eh?"

"Well…" Jack spoke hoarsely, "If that was his coping mechanism…"

Once it clicked in his conscience, Levi cursed, "oh, fuck," under his breath before launching himself from the sofa and following his friend out of the room.

…

After the blood had been cleaned up, Alice and Alyss were finally allowed to return to their own room. Alice was currently holding an ice pack to her forehead whilst frowning on her bed and sulking. Meanwhile, in their bathroom, Alyss was dressing the mildly deep cut on her arm, hissing every now and again at the pain. She wasn't being particularly careful though.

"Our brother is a dick," Alice groaned.

"Yeh," Alyss agreed, "But we already knew that."

"This is the first time you haven't been depressed in a while," Alice pointed out irrelevantly, "Maybe you're getting better."

Alyss smiled to herself, "Somehow I doubt that. We'll be here for a while, regardless."

"Hmph," Alice frowned, her back hunched over as she continued sulking, "I don't like it here."

"Me neither," Alyss commented, returning to their room with a poorly dressed bandage around her forearm as she collapsed lightly onto her bed, "When we do leave, I'd like to travel."

Alice raised an eyebrow at her twin. "And go where?"

"I don't know… just, somewhere no one will find us…"

…..

Meanwhile, in his room, Jack was presently sitting on the toilet seat, holding a tissue to his still bleeding nose as Oz examined his head.

"I don't think you have a concussion," Oz mentioned, his tone implying he wasn't too confident in his own statement, "Is your nose still bleeding?"

Tentatively, Jack pulled the soaked tissue away from his nose, but hastily cupped a hand over it once he realised it was indeed still bleeding and grabbing another tissue. With discrete sarcasm embedded in his attitude, Jack replied, "Yes, the blood is still gushing out."

Oz laughed a little, "Can you see clearly?"

"More or less," Jack answered, "I still feel pretty dizzy though."

"Well, if you're gonna puke again, get it in the toilet this time…" Oz joked.

Jack, however, grimaced, "Yeh… sorry about that."

"It's okay. It wasn't my favourite shirt," Oz chuckled, "Anyway, what the hell happened in there? Oswald must have beaten you up pretty badly. What did you even do to him?"

"Well… I kinda made Oswald… cry."

At the revelation, Oz's eyes doubled in size. "Huh?! How did you manage that?"

"I'm not really sure…" Jack muttered, "Whatever I said must've been pretty triggering."

"You must've said something to do with why he became an alcoholic, or something along those lines," Oz suggested, pressing an ice pack to the other's head, "Hold still; this might hurt."

Jack flinched as the hard object was pushed down onto his head, "Ow… god. Today _really_ didn't go well."

"Yeh… I can see that," Oz muttered under his breath, "Do you think… you'll ever be able to forgive Oswald?"

Furrowing his eyebrows, Jack tensed, "Not in a million years..."

…

After a while of contemplation, Levi decided to leave Oswald on his own for an hour or so. Rufus and Break were still in therapy, and so Levi was left leaning against their bathroom door, listening intently. He hadn't heard a single sound from Oswald in all time he'd been spying on him.

Levi was currently balancing precariously against the door on one foot in order to be able to hear what was going on. Suddenly, their bedroom door opened, and Rufus walked in.

"Levi?" he asked judgementally, "What the hell is going on?"

The sudden noise shocked him, and Levi lost his balanced, tumbling to the floor and crashing backwards against the wall.

"Ah… fuck," he flinched, "I was spying on Oswald. Jack made him cry, and now I don't know what he's doing."

"I did wonder what that was about," Rufus stated, sitting on his bed slowly, "Just as I was leaving for therapy, he burst into here and headed straight for the bathroom."

Levi flailed his arms around madly, staring desperately at the red head, "… And?! What was he doing?!"

Rufus shrugged casually, "Crying a lot? He slammed the door pretty hard. I eventually came to the conclusion that you'd upset him somehow."

"Why me?"

"Well… it's you."

Before Levi could retaliate with some snarky comment, the bathroom door clicked open, and Oswald hastily yanked Levi's sleeve, pulling him into the room and shutting the door behind them.

"Eh… what?" Levi said, bewildered, "Why am I in here?"

Oswald sighed, keeping his face shielded the whole time as he placed both arms on the edge of the sink and faced downwards, staring at his own reflection. "I didn't want Rufus or Break… to see me like this."

Lost for words, Levi simply folded his arms and leant on the wall. "Well… um… w-what's up?"

Freezing up, Oswald sniffed, dragging a hand across his face and keeping his back to Levi, "… It's nothing."

"Bullshit," Levi muttered under his breath, "Look, something's killing you inside, because in 15 years I've never seen you get so worked up over something. Or maybe you did, but you just drank those feelings aw- ohh, right… I get it now. _That's_ what's going on."

Finally working up the courage to face up to the truth, Oswald explained quietly, "I can't do that this time… Jack was right about everything. It did land me in a rehab. I know that. But I didn't want to end up here, no; I was content with being intoxicated my whole life. And then I get told that I'll die a painful and slow death of liver disease if I don't stop. _Then_ Jack confronts me. It's just too much. And the shittiest part about it is that the only way I can see myself getting better… is to drink."

"Well… I guess that makes sense," Levi countered, "No one is gonna judge you for getting irritable about not drinking. I'm sure the time will come when I have a meltdown because I can't smoke crack."

Oswald glared weakly at him. "I'll end up going back… won't I?"

Sighing, Levi placed both hands onto Oswald's shoulders, forcing him to face him straight on. Firmly but softly, he said, "It doesn't matter right now. We've got another year or so in here. Sure, that might be a year of suffering, or it'll be a year where we get to realise that we need to change. We don't know yet. Right now, I just need you to let it out. You're holding back tears, I can tell. I can feel you shaking mate," Levi laughed sarcastically, "You know, I might use this as blackmail in the future, but right now, I hate to see you fighting your feelings like this."

Bringing a hand up to his eyes, Oswald covered his upper face, shaking his head . His words wouldn't come out, and tears spilled from his eyes as he faced the floor.

"Just let it out," Levi whispered, and then chuckled lightly to himself, "I'll probably regret this at some point in the future, but…"

Before he completed his sentence, Levi pulled Oswald towards him, closing the gap between them and bringing the other into a tight hug. Oswald immediately tensed up, realising that this was the first time Levi had shown sympathy for him. After a little while, Oswald opened all his barriers, loosening up and burying his head in the crook of Levi's neck.

And he cried.

He cried until there was nothing left. He cried until he was empty.

"Hey, it's okay," Levi whispered to his friend as he continued sobbing, patting the back of his head lightly, "Just let it out. You're not alone. Sometimes it's okay to let your feelings run free like that. It just means that… you've finally accepted that you need help…"


	23. Chapter 23: We'll get better together

_**(A/Ns: Ah! Everyone's time at the recovery centre is done! Yes, yes, I know there're 2 more chapters. You'll get it when I get to them, its all good. But what better way to end it than with the adorableness of Elliot and Leo, eh? Yeh, so this chapter deals with some pretty serious topics, including Leo's background with his self destructive behaviour finally revealed. In the manga, it becomes pretty obvious that Leo gets pretty self destructive when things get too much, so what you're seeing in this chapter is sort of Glen-Leo. Anyway, for me personally, I can say now that coming out is extremely difficult. Some people will drive themselves insane just trying to accept their true sexuality. Honestly, I've experienced that much myself. But the problems that Leo is facing are not uncommon, and please do not overlook them. Also, the song that Leo was listening to was Skin and Bones by Marianas Trench. One of my reviewers (you know who you are!) recommended me this song, and I listened to it about a hundred times when suddenly, today, the lyrics FINALLY hit me and made sense. So yeh, give it a listen, its a really meaningful song. Anyway, I'll shut up now. I just had to explain a lot ^.^**_

 _ **Please review! I love all of you and I still can't express how much it means to me when you all tell me what you think. Also, who can spot the foreshadowing? Let me know your predictions for the last couple chapters!**_

 _ **Content warnings: graphic depictions of self harm and eating disorders, swearing, some yaoi but nothing too much**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)**_

 **~Chapter Twenty-Three: We'll get better together~**

Elliot woke up suddenly overcome by a strange feeling. It was 3am, and it was pitch black outside with absolutely no stars visible.

It was a difficult feeling to describe; he felt both concern and dread at the same time. Something was different. Something was out of place. Something was-

 _Leo._

"Shit," Elliot cursed through gritted teeth, "Leo…"

Ever since the incident a few weeks ago, Elliot and Leo had been sharing the same bed. On the outside, it seemed as though Elliot just wanted to keep an eye on Leo. Of course, whilst there was still a minuet element of truth in that, the main reason had been so that they could spend extra time in close proximity.

Usually, Elliot would catch on if Leo wanted to do something which he was trying to stop. It hadn't happened much since being taken off his medication, but occasionally Leo would have triggering thoughts, and Elliot would be forced to stay up with him. Undoubtedly, however, he'd had no obligations.

Elliot was snapped out his thoughts, wondering where the hell Leo had gone as he sat up wearily. Sighing, he immediately noticed that the bathroom light was on. The door was still open a crack, so obviously, Leo hadn't intended on being too discrete.

Suddenly, Elliot realised another reason as to why he'd been in such a hurry. _What if…_

Hastily, Elliot launched himself from the bed, frantically hurrying to the bathroom and kicking the door opening without hesitation.

He looked downwards worriedly, and straight away spotted Leo, crouched in front of the toilet and shaking like a leaf.

"Leo?" he whispered, well aware of the tear stains painting the other's face as he tried to be calmer than usual, "What happened?"

"Huh?" Leo looked up anxiously, avoiding all eye contact. Despite there not being a lingering scent of bleach in the air, Leo still wore an extremely guilty expression. "Oh… Elliot, sorry… I-I…"

"Look, its fine," Elliot dismissed, clearing his throat as he asked the awkward question, "Have you… um… have you actually, _thrown up_?"

Leo shook his head. "I… I was going to… but I didn't, I swear."

"Why?"

"… I… I had a nightmare…"

Elliot glanced down at him, squatting down beside him and rubbing his shoulder sympathetically. "What was it about?"

Instead of answering, Leo simply shifted uncomfortably. As tired as he was, he still didn't feel like leaving the bathroom just yet.

"Leo?"

"No… it's nothing… it doesn't matter."

Slightly annoyed by the fact Elliot continued pestering him for the answer, Leo rolled his eyes, standing up and leaving the room. His steps were shaky, and he felt incredibly weak. Plus, his mental state was lagging, considering he hadn't actually gotten to do what he wanted.

Meanwhile, Elliot continued ranting, "Leo! You can't just stand up and walk away from me! I'm trying to help me, and you're just avoiding the question! I should have a right to know what's going on! I just want you to tell me-"

Leo growled, "Argh, shut up, Elliot! All you do is talk, talk, talk! It's annoying. You walked in, and saw me in that condition, and yet you're still _selfish_ enough to start yelling at me! I don't want to talk about it!"

"Hey!" Elliot yelled defensively, storming over to Leo and grabbing the collar of his night shirt, "Where's this come from?! I'm just sick of you being so secretive! I've told you everything about me that's worth knowing, and yet I still know next to nothing about you!"

"Well, that's because your life is boring," Leo retorted bluntly.

"Argh, Leo! You're so frustrating!"

At that moment, Elliot removed his hand from the fabric of Leo's shirt, forced him to stumble backwards a little before throwing a punch directly at his face.

However.

Leo certainly was _not_ the type of person who would just stand there and let himself be punched.

Instead, he swiftly raised a hand, dutifully capturing Elliot's fist in his palm and stopping it a few millimetres from his face.

Grinning smugly, Leo raised his other finger to his lips, pressing it against them and whispering sarcastically, "Shh, Elliot. Its 3am; you'll wake up everyone else."

Before Elliot even had enough time to retaliate, Leo yanked the blonde's hand downwards, bending the wrist and causing him to yelp in pain. Next, he threw another punch square into Elliot's face, and successfully hit him.

"Ouch!" Elliot cried, holding his bruised nose and he raised his hand and smacked Leo around the face, who failed to dodge this time.

One thing led to another, and soon enough the night silence was destroyed by the two teens in Room 2 kicking up dust in their pointless fight.

…..

About half an hour later, Elliot and Leo had finally stop fighting. Elliot was currently plastering his nose, whilst Leo sat on the bed and sulked, an ice pack pressed against his already bruising eye. An awkward silence hung over the room like a dark cloud. The shadow was further expanded when Elliot stomped out of the bathroom, climbing into the bed which Leo wasn't on.

Refusing to speak, Elliot simply shut his eyes, frowning as he forced himself to go to sleep.

All of a sudden, the sound of creaking footsteps filled the room, and Leo soon climbed into bed with Elliot.

"Huh?" Elliot grunted, seemingly unfazed.

"I don't like sleeping alone…" Leo muttered, eyes brimming with tears, "I…. I still feel a bit weird…"

"What's up?" the blonde muttered, trying desperately not to seem bothered. Admittedly, it wasn't working particularly well.

"I'm just a bit dizzy… I'm sure it'll pass."

"Alright."

After a few minutes of deafening silence, Elliot sighed, giving in. "Sorry…" he muttered, "I shouldn't have gotten annoyed at you earlier."

"I forgive you," Leo said, a lingering hint of sarcasm in his tone, "I'm sorry too, for… you know, _beating_ you in the fight."

"Tch…" Elliot scoffed weakly, before turning over to face Leo. Even though it was dark, he could still tell where the noirette was as he brought a finger up and placed it on his chin, bringing Leo's face closer to his and planting his lips softly onto the other's.

Leo smiled, "Thank you, Elliot."

…

Soon enough, morning dawned on the Recovery Centre, and Leo and Elliot were woken up by the sound of somebody knocking on their door.

Leo and Elliot both awakened at the same time, yawning simultaneously as they heard the irritating knocking sound. Raindrops were hitting the window, trailing down it slowly and pooling onto the window pane. The sky was grey, and hardly any light poured into the room.

"Who's that?" Elliot grunted, but not before the door was opened.

"It's me~" Lacie sang, staring at the two boys in bed together and cocking an eyebrow, "Urh… are you _sure_ that you share a bed just to look out for him?"

It was only at that point that the two registered their position. At some point in the night, Leo had shuffled closer towards Elliot, his body pressed back against Elliot's front with their legs entangled. Also, Elliot's arm appeared to have snaked around Leo's waist at some time.

Blushing like crazy, Elliot flinched under Lacie's gaze and pulled away, sitting up groggily and opening the curtains. "Ugh… why do you always have to be the one walking in…?"

"Oh, so I am seeing something?"

Before Elliot could retaliate with some snarky comment, Leo interjected, "Elliot, I don't see much point in pretending anymore. She's not stupid."

"Hmph, fine," Elliot agreed reluctantly, pulling Leo up to sit beside him as the noirette leant against his shoulder, therefore proving the point further, "We're… going out."

Lacie smiled, not even shocked in the very slightest, "Good for you. Am I safe to assume that the noise last night was something to do with _that_ kind of thing?"

"Huh?!" Elliot stuttered, feeling his face heat up embarrassingly.

Once again, Leo intervened, smirking internally as he responded, "Yes, sorry about that. Next time we'll be quieter."

"W-w-wait what?!" Elliot yelped.

"Don't worry, Elliot, there's no need to be embarrassed," Leo teased, "Lacie understands."

She nodded, "Sure… well, that was all I needed to ask about. Breakfast is in half an hour. Leo, you've been following the diet plan?"

"Yeh…" he replied, looking down as he felt himself grow slightly light-headed and leant against Elliot for support.

Elliot picked up on this promptly. "Leo? You alright?"

"Mhm… 'm fine…"

Lacie raised an eyebrow, walking closer to the two. "Are you sure about that? You don't look too great."

"No, I'm fine…"

She sighed in defeat, "Okay, whatever. I'll see you at breakfast then."

Just after she left the room, Elliot turned to face Leo, asking, "Why did you suddenly lean on me?"

"I'm dizzy…" Leo muttered almost inaudibly, "I feel faint."

"Okay… do you feel like you're going to be sick?"

Leo shook his head. "No. Don't think so…"

"Do you want me to get you some water?" Elliot offered.

Leo nodded; holding his head with the same hand leant on his knee.

"Okay."

Elliot stood up, keeping his eye on Leo as he turned the corner into the bathroom. The second he took his eyes from him, he heard a few staggering footsteps, before a mild _crash_ came into his hearing range.

The blonde sighed, walking into the room to see Leo sprawled across the floor, "Idiot… no one ever told you to try and stand… LACIE!"

…

 _It's dark._

 _It's cold._

 _Where am I…?_

 _It's dark._

 _I'm-_

"Leo!"

Very slowly, Leo began to stir, eyes fluttering open and closed as his lifeless form remained as still as a dead person. His face was extremely pale; he almost looked like a ghost. There was a blinding light surrounding him, and a sharp pain going through his head and right hand. Without thinking clearly, Leo shot his eyes open in a split second, flinching violently at the light as a pain spread through his temples.

"W-where am I…?" Leo asked quietly, his voice hoarse and weak, "… w-what happened?"

"You collapsed," Elliot explained, holding his hand tightly, "You've been out cold for nearly the whole day. It's 8pm now."

"Oh…" he stuttered, attempting to lift his hand in order to wipe the sweat away from his forehead but instead discovering that he was too weak.

"Be careful and don't move," Elliot instructed, "You'll rip the IV out."

"… the _what_?"

"The IV. They used it to feed you nutrients and stuff so that it wouldn't matter if you didn't eat. Your blood sugar levels were too low, and that's why you collapsed. I wouldn't be surprised if you felt a bit floaty right now; they've effectively drugged you with medicine."

"Oh…" Leo shifted a little, feeling something slightly strange. He couldn't quite place a finger on what it was though, and it was annoying him like crazy. He tried to move, but immediately felt restricted by something attached to his… _huh?_

"Elliot…" he stuttered.

"What is it?"

Leo pointed downwards, eventually spotting the plastic tube hanging off the side of the bed and almost jumped out of the bed. "What is that and why is it where I think it is?"

Elliot laughed at Leo's amusing reaction, explaining, "It's a catheter. Lacie didn't want to have to put one in place, but you hadn't woken up after about four hours, and you started squirming around in your sleep. Plus, the medicine they gave you triggers the production of urine. So… she put in a catheter so you didn't piss yourself."

"Ugh…" Leo face palmed mentally, "This is awful…"

"I don't care, but…" Elliot's tone suddenly shifted to a lot more serious, "Lacie said that… the effects of your bulimia, well… they're permanent. That's… why you fainted…"

"Oh…" Leo sniffed, feeling himself grow strangely emotional. For some reason, he felt like shit inside as well. Even though on the outside he also felt awful, he felt even more mentally drained. Without even realising it, tears began to leak from his eyes, wetting his dark eyelashes and pooling in his eyelids.

"Leo…" Elliot exhaled softly, using his fingers to wipe away some of the tears, "Don't cry on me now."

"S-sorry…" Leo whispered.

"No, it's not your fault," Elliot reassured, "You're drugged up on medication right now. Loads of it. If you feel like shit then let it out."

Trying not to, Leo eventually surrendered, crying silently to himself with an arm lying across his eyes.

"I feel stupid…" he muttered, and Elliot wasn't actually certain whether he was talking to himself or not, "I got so far… but I've fucked up my life… Is this going to be the death of me? Am I going to die? Because… that's what it feels like. Like I've made all that progress… and it's useless."

"No… Leo, please don't," Elliot pleaded. As much as he could be considered the 'flirty' type, he certainly wasn't very capable at calming people down. "There's not really much I can say right now… but I'm so proud of you. I don't know what you've been through but I know you've had a rough time. But you've gone 1 month clean now. It's brilliant. So what if it's still killing you now? You did something stupid… so does everyone. But, we are who we are. No one can take that away from us."

Leo waited a little, before laughing derisively through his nose, "That's just cringey."

Elliot felt his face flush. "Y-yeh… so what?"

"Well… I'm not sure. My strange comments could be due to the fact that I currently feel like I'm floating on a cloud. I'm guessing this is what being high feels like."

"Okay then…" Elliot muttered, unsure of where the conversation was going, "You… wanted to stop, but you couldn't. You mentioned it was for control, but… you've got control now, right?"

Leo shook his head. "I don't feel like I do. My mind got fucked after growing up in an orphanage _and_ attending public school."

Elliot thought it was his turn to tease Leo, edging a little closer to him and replacing his hand on Leo's. He chimed, "Oh, so you're actually going to tell me about that now."

"Heh, might as well…" Leo smirked, "I'm not gonna lie right now, with the drugs crossed with the catheter, I feel like I'm slightly insane."

Elliot smiled, leaning down to the noirette and kissing him lightly on the lips. Leo grinned against Elliot's mouth, releasing the tension in his shoulders. Slowly and carefully, Leo sat up with the help of Elliot as their kiss deepened.

At that moment, Lacie walked in, smirking inwardly, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe. And she waited.

After a minute of no change whatsoever, Lacie cleared her throat, coughing, "Ahem. I'm here to change the IVs?"

Once they heard her voice, Elliot flinched, pulling back and blushing again. "Seriously?" he complained, "Now of all times?"

Lacie shrugged casually, still grinning to herself, "I must have very good timing."

"Hmph," Elliot grunted.

"Don't be so ashamed," Leo chuckled.

Lacie raised an eyebrow. "Is he alright?"

Elliot gave her an uneasy look, "I think it's the medicine."

She nodded, "Alright, I think I'll leave it then. Have fun."

Grateful that she was finally leaving, Elliot sighed in relief, lifting himself onto the table beside the bed and gesturing for Leo to begin.

"Don't push me, by the way…" Leo muttered, before registering Elliot's acceptance and continuing, "Okay… well, when I was young, I was raised by my mother until I was about 8 and she was killed. I ended up in an orphanage… obviously, I attended a public school…"

After a short pause, Elliot said, "And…?"

"Well… I'd have thought that was pretty self-explanatory," Leo replied, "The school was really rough… I was constantly getting bullied… and that didn't exactly stop at the orphanage either."

Elliot frowned at the thought. "What for?"

"Look at me," Leo pointed out simply, "For being smart… lonely… gay…"

"Were you… you know, _out of the closet_?"

Leo shook his head dolorously, "No… I didn't want to… I didn't want them to know they were right…"

…

 _"_ _Gay boy!"_

 _"_ _Faggot!"_

 _"_ _Loner!"_

 _"_ _Nerd!"_

 _"_ _Freak!"_

 _The insults just continued being thrown viciously at the 13 year old Leo, who was currently curled up in the corner next to the lockers, holding on desperately to the book in his left hand. They'd already beaten him up once that morning, but the verbal abuse was always ten times worse._

 _"_ _Just leave me alone, jeez…" he whimpered, "Seriously… what did I ever do to you?"_

 _The leader of the gang shrugged, "Nothing, you pathetic little fag. It's just funny; don't take it seriously!"_

 _More insults and homophobic slurs came flying his way, and eventually, he grew sick of it, standing up wearily with the support of the wall and yelling at them, "SHUT UP! STOP ATTACKING ME MEANINGLESSLY!"_

 _The group of them flinched sarcastically, one of them teasing, "Oooh, is the queer actually gonna stand up to us for once?"_

 _Sighing heavily, Leo growled, "I'm not gay, for fucks sake!"_

 _However, inside of him, a voice was screaming at him, 'Stop lying to yourself.'_

 _Even though the group had silenced at that point, and were only snickering to themselves, Leo still heard their words echoing in his ears._

 _"_ _Shut up!" he blurted out of nowhere, punching the wall with great force before storming off. He raced into the toilets, slamming one of the stalls behind him straight into the wall and leaning against it, sighing to himself, "Ugh… I'm really bad at handling that…"_

….

To Elliot's surprise, Leo had managed to make it through explaining all of that without tearing up. Obviously, his tone in general had been mellow and depressing, but he didn't seem to be too bothered.

"So… when did you start purging?"

Leo shifted uncomfortably, muttering, "Well… I didn't actually do that first…"

"Huh?"

"Well… I guess I was looking for ways to be self-destructive… I… I tried a few things… before actually finding what felt the best…"

Elliot's eyes doubled in size once he sensed where this was going. "No… please say you didn't…"

As the blonde's voice trailed off at the end of the end, Leo eyed him uneasily. "Yeh… it was right before I started doing… what I did…"

…..

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _That was the third time Leo had self-mutilated that week, dragging the razor across his pale skin and watching as beads of blood began to form on the opening._

 _"_ _It's not working…" he mumbled to himself, twirling the razor around his fingers before throwing it carelessly onto the floor, watching as droplets of blood splashed onto the wooden floor. His room in the orphanage was small, and he often kept to himself in there. Whilst sharp objects and locking the door were technically against the rules, that never stopped Leo from being self-destructive._

 _Picking up a tissue, Leo recklessly wiped up the blood from his wrist, a few more cuts scattered across the left arm which had barely healed._

 _He was 14, and things had been going downhill fast recently. To begin with, he'd finally come to realise that he was gay, which proved to be a problem in itself. Secondly, the bullying had been getting much worse, and all he wanted to do was forget it._

 _Burning hadn't worked, and now cutting had proved ineffective too._

 _He'd read about it in books previously, watching how people could gain control simply by slicing open their own skin. It seemed like a far-fetched concept to Leo, but that didn't prevent him from giving it a go._

 _He continued muttering to himself, "Did the magic run out on me or something…?"_

 _Nothing had worked._

 _Leo was promptly pulled out of his thoughts by a soft knocking on the door._

 _"_ _Leo?" a female voice asked; probably one of the maids, "It's time to come to dinner."_

 _He sighed, calling back nonchalantly, "I'll be down in a second."_

 _Covering up the wounds with his shirt sleeve, Leo strolled down the stairs of the building, ignoring all the other children's gazes as he sauntered over to the table and sat down in front of his food._

 _"_ _I'm not hungry…" he mentioned to himself, holding the fork and meaninglessly picking at his food. For the past few days, he hadn't eaten much. There wasn't any particular reason for it; he just didn't feel like eating._

 _Of course, some of the members of staff had noticed this, and all thought that intervening would be a good idea. To no surprise, Leo strongly disagreed._

 _"_ _Leo?" one of them said softly, "Leo, honey, you need to eat."_

 _"_ _I'm not hungry…" he repeated, slightly louder this time._

 _She frowned, crossing her arms over. "Leo, you haven't eaten properly for the past few days. Are you ill?"_

 _"_ _No," he replied, almost inaudibly._

 _"_ _Well then, eat," she ordered, "If you don't, we'll take away your books."_

 _Leo immediately growled at her, "For fucks sake, I'm just not hungry, alright? Jesus… I don't understand why you people have to be so narrow minded that you're effectively force feeding me!"_

 _"_ _Watch your language. Just shut up and eat."_

 _Not even bothering to reply, Leo picked reluctantly shovelled the food down his throat, oblivious to the silence and stares surrounding him. He just wanted to get out of there._

 _The second he'd finished, he threw the plate to the opposite side of the table, getting up from the chair and storming out of the room without turning back._

 _Once he'd reached his room, Leo instantly locked the door; kicking over the chair by his bed and watching it tumble onto the floor. Anger boiled up inside of him as he paced restlessly around the room._

 _Suddenly, after another minute or so of raging, Leo felt his dinner try and force itself up his throat. Placing a hand over his mouth, Leo hastily searched for the plastic bin, realising he didn't have enough time to make it to the bathroom as he kneeled over the bin and retched, emptying the contents of his stomach into it._

 _Once he had finished, Leo collapsed back onto the wall, exhausted from getting himself so angry to the point where he threw up. He smiled to himself, staring idly at the ceiling as he panted, "You know… that wasn't actually that bad…"_

 _…_ _.._

"Oh…" Elliot stuttered, "So… that's why you didn't take your shirt off when we… did _that_."

Leo nodded.

"And after that, you just continued?"

"Yeh… I skipped most of the meals I could during the day, and then got rid of what little I did eat at night," Leo admitted, not a single hint of regret in his words, "It become part of my routine for two whole years…"

Elliot simply accepted everything, knowing they'd end up arguing if he tried to scold Leo for what he did. Of course, he was extremely unhappy that the boy had been hurting himself to that extent, but he didn't want to press him about it. The past was in the past, unfortunately, and it couldn't be changed. He continued, "So… when did people find out?"

"T-that was a few days before I came here…"

"Who found you?"

"Some kid at the orphanage. He was quite a lot younger than me, but out of everyone… I was probably closest to him…"

….

 _It was midnight, and the only life in the orphanage was Leo, crouched in front of the toilet with his fingers stuck down his throat. He removed his fingers from his throat, finally triggering the gag reflex and bringing up almost pure acid. Bones stuck out at his hips; he looked half dead. The glasses which he usually wore were sitting beside the toilet, and his brown hair had been loosely pulled back from his face._

 _After a short while, Leo had successfully brought up all he could, completely clearing his stomach. He panted, leaning against the toilet as he plugged a pair of headphones in, resuming the song he'd been previously listening too._

 _'_ _I lock the door,_

 _Turn all the water on._

 _And bury that sound,_

 _So no one hears anything anymore.'_

 _The lyrics sunk in each time as he drowned himself in the music._

 _However, Leo's desired tranquillity was abruptly interrupted when the door swung open, revealing a short boy with dark, messy hair. "Leo?!" he yelled, "Why are you…?"_

 _"_ _Phillipe!" Leo flinched, pulling out the headphones, "Leave! Y-you don't want to be here… right now…"_

 _"_ _I-I know what you're doing!" Phillipe declared, "I know that you've been doing this for ages! Why?! What's the reason?!"_

 _Leo scowled at him, unable to seek out the strength to allow him to stand up or even flush the toilet, "You wouldn't know what it's like! I don't have control over anything! My mother's death… the people at school… the bullying… I don't even have control over my fucking sexuality!"_

 _Phillipe glanced up at him with teary eyes. "W-what…?"_

 _"_ _S-sorry…" Leo apologised, "I shouldn't have sworn at you like that… i-it's just that I haven't actually told anyone yet…"_

 _"_ _Y-you're… gay?"_

 _Hesitantly, Leo nodded, turning away from the younger boy in an attempt to avoid all eye contact._

 _"_ _Oh…" Phillipe muttered, turning back towards the doors, "I-I'm getting one of the staff…"_

 _"_ _No, please don't…" Leo begged._

 _"_ _But why?! You need help!"_

 _"_ _I don't want help, dammit!"_

 _"_ _I don't care!" Phillipe retorted, before running off to the staff's bedrooms, leaving Leo unable to stop him._

 _Leo simply broke down into tears, dropping to his knees and resting his head on his arms. Quietly, he whispered to himself, "I… I don't want help… I can't do it…"_

 _…_ _._

"So… what happened after that?" Elliot questioned, one of his hands brushing soothingly through the other's hair once he'd started getting slightly upset.

"The staff came and found me… and I cried out for about 2 hours. I don't really remember much, to be honest…" Leo admitted, "I was too off in my own world, screaming about how I hated being gay… how I had no control over anything. I honestly felt pathetic, I mean… I'm a 16 year old, sitting in the bathroom, crying my eyes out with vomit still in my hair… I just hated everything…"

Elliot could only nod, feeling awful about everything. For once, he actually felt grateful for his life. "A-and all of this happened… because you couldn't accept who you were?"

"To an extent, yeh…" Leo replied, "I guess… the desire for control had resided in me for a while. But, when all of that happened… I just lost it. I hate it. I still do. But, at the age of 14, I thought it would be stupid to come out. I refused… to accept it."

"It's okay," Elliot told him, taking his hand in his once again, "I still haven't told my family. Heh, they'd probably throw me out, to be honest. But, you're getting better, and that's all that really matters to me, if I'm honest."

Leo nodded, asking after a short pause, "Say, Elliot?"

"Huh? Yeh?"

"I think I'm finally accepting who I am now… I still feel slightly out-of-it, but… honestly, I think I'm starting to remember… what being 'happy' feels like."

Elliot's eyes widened and he felt himself grow speechless.

Leo grinned up at him, changing the topic. "Anyway, I'm tired after all of that. G'night, Elliot."

The blonde watched as they smaller boy drifted off to sleep, his lifeless form barely moving. He glanced down at him as his lips tugged into a genuine smile.

 _You know what?_ Elliot thought, _maybe things wouldn't be so bad from now on._


	24. Chapter 24: Leaving

**_(A/Ns: *cries* THat was soOOoo emotional to write! Wah! I can't believe my babies are leaving now! So yeh, this chapter once again has my signature contrast of comedy and depressingness. Once again, Elliot and Leo got the last scene, but I just thought that it was a perfect way to end this (hehe, you'll find out the beautifulness of that scene when you get there...) Anyway, this is long once again, and the next chapter will be even longer, most likely. I don't know yet; i'm trying a writing style slightly different from what I usually do. Unfortunately, I travel to Iceland for 4 days on Monday, so you'll have to wait until next week for the finale._**

 ** _IMPORTANT: Okay, so if you have an account and can private message me on then ignore this. But, if you are one of my reviewers/followers who does not have an account, I strongly suggest reviewing any questions which you have now, considering I won't be able to answer any after ch 25. I understand that a lot happens in this, so i'll answer any questions in the A/Ns next time. If they're about what happens in the future (2 year timeskip it'll be) then they'll be answered or left unknown._**

 ** _Please review! And also, i'd love to know you guys' predictions for what happens to all the characters 2 years ahead._**

 ** _Content warnings: mild violence, swearing, drug mentions, homophobic language, some yaoi and Levi's crudeness_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters)_**

 **~Chapter Twenty-Four: Leaving~**

 _9_ _months later…_

….

"Gil!" Oz yelled, skilfully leaping down from the bunk bed and landing safely onto the floor, clambering over to the other bunk, "Gil! We get to go home today!"

Sitting up groggily, Gil smiled down at the younger boy, "Yeh… I guess we do."

"What do you plan on doing when you leave?" Jack asked, removing the covers from himself as he perched on the edge of the bottom bunk, "Besides Miranda pestering me more than ever, I'll probably just go back to living alone."

"I'm not sure…" Oz told them, leaning against Gilbert and Vincent's bed, "Me and Alice did wonder travelling, but I don't think her sister really likes me."

"You're old enough," Gil mentioned, working up the energy to stand up as he walked past Oz, fingers ruffling teasingly through his blonde hair, "I'm sure the two of you could get a nice place together. Where were you living previously?"

Oz scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well… I never actually left Uncle's house…"

"Oh well," Gil dismissed, sticking his hand into his pocket and retrieving a cigarette along with a lighter, "I'm going out for a smoke."

"Bye!" Oz waved him off, turning up to the bunk bed across from them and glancing at Vincent, who was now sitting up but still entangled in the sheets, "So Vincent… what are you gonna do?"

Smiling regretfully to himself, Vincent answered, "Don't tell Gil this yet, because he'll probably try to stop me, but… I'd like to give him a future without me."

"Why?" Oz asked out of interest.

"I've done some bad things; to him… to myself… to everyone, really," Vincent confessed, "I'd just like to leave, to be honest."

Oz and Jack were left in silence, watching as Vincent climbed out of bed casually and walked into their bathroom, the sound of the shower turning on quickly filling the room.

"So…" Oz changed the topic, "I hope we get to stay in touch…"

"Yeh…" Jack agreed, facing the floor sheepishly, "You know, Oz… I don't think I've actually said this truthfully yet, but…"

"What is it?"

Hesitantly, Jack stood up, walking over to Oz and pulling him into a tight hug. Instead of freezing up in shock like most people would, Oz immediately loosened himself, melting into the hug.

"Thank you…" Jack said, his voice filled with honestly and gratefulness.

Grinning to himself where the other couldn't see, Oz muttered, "You're welcome… it was nothing…"

….

Meanwhile, in the adjacent room, there was a little bit more life, with Alice jumping up and down on her bed screaming whilst Alyss simply sat on her bed, clutching a rabbit plush toy to her chest as she listened to her twin yelling excitedly.

"YEESSSSSS!" Alice exclaimed, jumping recklessly from the top bunk and crashing onto the floor, "We leave today!"

"I can see that…" Alyss added, almost concerned for her sister. Although, thankfully, after just over a year of counselling, Alice's split personality disorder had finally dissipated, and her dominant personality had been made clear.

Unfortunately, it happened to be the 'bossy' and 'arrogant' Alice.

"You know, me and Oz are going to travel the world!" Alice declared, sounding slightly insincere as the words came off as a demand which was not open in any way to discussion, "Yep! We're going to leave, get a job, find a crappy flat somewhere, save money or shit, and then travel! We'll go to all the different places!"

Alyss cocked her eyebrow judgementally. "And what if Oz doesn't want to?"

"What are you talking about?" Alice asked as if her twin was speaking a different language, "He's my manservant! He doesn't get a choice!"

"Oh, okay then," Alyss chuckled to herself, shaking her head at Alice and her narcissistic personality.

 _Oh well,_ Alyss thought to herself, _at least this hasn't changed who she truly is…_

….

In the room besides that one, Elliot and Leo were both waking up, the light from the morning sunrise illuminating the room; their silhouettes forming shadows on the floor. The sheets were tangled around their bodies, Elliot being the first to sit up as he pulled Leo up with him.

"Elliot?" Leo asked wearily, picking up the glasses from their bedside table and putting them on, "Why so early?"

Elliot frowned, "We're leaving today, remember?"

"Oh, yeh," Leo realised, "No one's coming to see me, though."

"Yeh…"

"Elliot?" Leo tilted his head at the blonde. "You alright?"

"Hm? Yeh… I'm fine."

Leo sighed, "No you're not. Is it to do with who's seeing you?"

"Huh?! How did you know?"

"Easy. It was what we were talking about. So… who'll be picking you up?"

"Uh…" Elliot turned away, facing the window as if he were avoiding the question. "My sister Vanessa, I think…"

"Why is that a problem?" Leo questioned.

"Well… they never knew I, you know, _swung this way_ , and… well…"

Leo was fast to notice how Elliot's words faded at the end of his sentence, encouraging him to continue. "…well?"

Elliot exhaled, his voice softening, "They're kind of… _extremely_ homophobic…"

"Oh…"

"Yeh…"

An awkward silence dawdled, Elliot and Leo both sitting beside each other wordlessly.

Suddenly, Leo turned to Elliot, grinning to him as he said, "I guess… we'll have to do it together then, eh?"

"Yeh…" Elliot beamed, leaning into Leo and placing a kiss onto his lips, Leo melting into the embrace as they explored each other's mouths. Pulling away, the blonde responded, "I think… I'll need your support…"

…

In the meantime, the room containing Levi, Oswald, Rufus and Break was awakening, Levi being the first to wake up. Shortly following him were Break and Rufus, glaring at each other from across the room.

Despite not quite having a full-on argument, Rufus and Break had certainly clashed, Rufus consistently pestering Break for information on his past, claiming that 'knowledge is power'. Break, however, would usually retaliate with some snarky insult. As a result of this bitterness, a lingering tension continued to consume their room.

"Woah, what's this?" Levi asked sarcastically, "It's weird…"

"Ah, nothing~" Break chimed, kicking the sheets away from himself and standing up, "Just glaring at the guy who seems wayyyyy too interested in my past."

Rufus frowned, but didn't say anything back.

"Bit tight," Levi commented, turning to Rufus, "I wouldn't call your past perfect either."

"Why are you targeting me?" Rufus narrowed his eyes at him. "I was bored."

"Oh, but I thought you were soooo smart~" Break intervened.

"Tch, shut up," Rufus scoffed.

"Whatever, I'll just leave you to be moody," Break teased, smirking to himself as he wandered to their shared bathroom, "I'm just happy to be the only one who _hasn't_ set themselves up to relapse~"

"What's that supposed to m-!"

Rufus' yelling was promptly cut off by Break slamming the door behind him.

Levi remained silent through the conflict for once, glancing down at his friend; still in bed and sleeping peacefully. He raised an eyebrow. "How the hell did Oswald sleep through all that?"

Rufus shrugged, pulling out a book from beside his bed and sulking as he read.

Meanwhile, Levi decided to wake Oswald up. Obviously, like always, it entailed hurting the other. Smirking to himself, Levi crawled onto Oswald's bed, straddling his legs and slapping him harshly around the face. However, right before the palm of his hand made contact with his face, Oswald raised a hand, dutifully seizing Levi's wrist only a few millimetres from his face.

"Huh?" Levi stared in awe. "I know you're better at fighting than me, but… wait, are you actually _awake_?"

At the sound of Levi's voice ringing in his ears, Oswald stirred.

But, he didn't wake up.

"What?!" he yelped, "How the hell are you doing that?!"

Oswald _still_ didn't wake up.

Growing increasingly impatient by the minute, Levi started shaking the bed underneath him, whining at Oswald to get the fuck up now. Eventually, the noise combined with the movement pulled Oswald from the depths of unconsciousness, and his eyes fluttered open gradually… to see Levi sitting on top of him.

"Levi?" he asked, pulling himself free and glaring weakly at Levi, "What the hell were you doing?"

"Waking you up."

"Really? Because it felt like you were trying to seduce me."

Levi snorted derisively, "As if you'd know what that felt like…"

"… shut up."

…

Each and every one of the patients sat waiting anxiously, together in their usual group. The room had been engulfed in a painful silence, anticipation taking over as they sat impatiently.

Today was the day they would finally leave, and the thought of being free was quickly creeping up on them and into their consciences. Apart from Leo, Alice and Alyss, all of them were expecting guests. It was quite obvious who would be coming to escort them home, but that didn't reduce their growing nerves. Besides, none of them could _actually_ leave until Lacie and Sharon finished completing their discharge forms.

After another few minutes of tedious waiting, Lacie and Sharon entered the room, handing out large files to each person.

"This is everything which has happened with you since you came here nearly a year ago," Lacie informed the group, "Your therapy notes, personal statements, background information etc… also, Rufus, Levi, Oswald and Break?"

Confused, the four whose names were called all perked their heads up in curiosity.

Once she knew she had their attention, Lacie continued, "There's a few pages of information in here which you need to give to someone you trust. Preferably the person who visits today, actually. It's only the warning signs for relapse and what to do if it looks like it may occur, or it does."

Taking the envelopes, they all nodded understandingly.

"Alright, some have arrived," Sharon told them, returning from the front room and turning to the crowd behind her, "Guys? Follow me."

The first two people to enter were young females, one with light brown hair and a purple work suit, whilst the other had roughly styled red hair, bangs sitting just above her eyebrows.

Rufus immediately recognised the two women as Miranda, his cousin, and Sheryl, the love of his life who'd originally sent him here. Obviously, Miranda wouldn't be here to visit him, considering he'd eventually deduced that his family would probably shun him for the rest of his life.

"Jack!" Miranda hollered the second she spotted the blonde, who, frankly, just looked terrified as she scurried across the room and engulfed him into a painfully tight hug, "Ahaha, Jack my boy, I'm soooo glad to see you again~"

"Hehe…" Jack chuckled, glancing down nervously at Oz, "Same with you… should we leave now?"

Miranda pouted childishly at him, fiddling with a loose strand of blonde hair. "Nooo, not yet! I still haven't had a chance to tease my _dear_ cousin Rufus!"

Jack sighed and attempted to stop her, "Seriously? Why do you need to now? Can't you do that at your next family gathering or something?"

"Oh, no! Of course not!" she mocked, "That's actually one of the things I need to inform him."

"Fine, but just make it quick."

"Oh, yes, anything for you my darling~"

The two began to approach Rufus and Sheryl, both of them standing in front of the door with the intention of leaving. To no surprise, Miranda put aside all shame, grabbing Rufus by the collar and pushing him back against the wall.

"What was that for?" Rufus growled, struggling under her grip. Despite her appearance, his cousin was actually quite – no, _very_ strong. "I was just about to leave!"

"Sorry, but I've got a little message from Mum and Dad," Miranda smirked, disdainfully standing over him, "They want you to stay away from us."

"Huh?!" Rufus exclaimed, "Why?!"

"Simple. You ruined our family name."

"Alright, I'll admit, getting addicted to cocaine was pretty stupid," he confessed, "But that's no reason to _abandon_ me!"

Miranda shook her head tragically, "Oh Rufus… always so dramatic… 'abandon' is a bit of a strong word, don't you think? I'd say… _ignoring_ is a slightly more appropriate term."

"Hmph," Rufus sulked, turning to Sheryl and abruptly taking her hand in his. She exhaled exhaustedly, inwardly sighing. "I'll just marry Sheryl then!"

Sheryl turned to him, placing a hand onto his shoulder lightly and informing him bluntly, "No, you won't."

"Huh?! Why won't you marry me?! I've gone one year clean, for Christ's sake!"

She smiled up at him, "It's nothing to do with that. I've already eloped."

The second the word 'eloped' was spoken, Rufus froze in shock, staring in utter horror at Sheryl before bursting into tears, storming out of the room.

Simultaneously, Miranda and Sheryl face palmed. Jack, on the other hand, stood in silence behind them, shooting Oz a desperate glance before leaving the room.

Across the room, Oz was still hugging Ada closely, clinging to the fabric of her shirt as she cried into his, tears seeping through into his clothing.

"Brother… I'm so glad you're better now…" she whispered, "It hurt me so much… that you were suffering like that… I missed you so much!"

As she continued crying hysterically, Oz smiled, subtly stroking a hand through her golden hair as he replied softly, "It's okay, Ada… I'm back now."

Meanwhile, and standing beside them, Oscar and Gil were absentmindedly discussing their plans for the future, considering Oz (or more accurately, his father) had pretty much destroyed any possibility of attending university.

"You'll go back to work?" Oscar asked Gil quizzically.

"I never had a job…" Gil admitted.

"What?! How did you pay for everything?"

"Vince got me everything I needed," Gilbert answered, his expression shifting to convey uncertainty, "As for where he got _that_ money from… well, frankly, I've got no idea."

Oscar chuckled lightly, "That's the Gil I always knew."

"Hm, yeh… thanks," Gilbert commented, not entirely sure whether to interpret it as a compliment or an insult, "I'll probably just go back to the apartment I was. I've no idea what Vincent's going to do."

Exhaling heavily, Oscar sighed, "Does anyone know?"

Speaking of Vincent, the blonde was currently talking secretly to Echo across the room. Gil glanced over at him suspiciously, making eye contact for only a brief second. At that moment, Vincent turned away from Echo, smiling at his brother from across the room before returning to his conversation with Echo.

Put off by his demeanour, Gil turned back to Oscar, who had successfully separated Oz and Ada so that they could leave.

Oz skipped over to Gil with a spring in his step, hugging Gil loosely before pulling away again, looking up at the raven and saying, "Keep in contact with me, will ya?"

Gil stared down at Oz's cheeky grin, sentimentality filling him as he ruffled the blonde's hair. "Of course I will, Oz."

Thanking him, Oz left, his silhouette dissipating as he turned the corner with his family.

As he disappeared, Gil scanned the room in search for his brother, shocked to find that he'd already gone. Shrugging it off as his brother's normal, strange behaviour, he simply exited the room, not saying goodbye to any of the other patients as he turned out of the centre, strolling down the road and entering the taxi awaiting him.

Just before he climbed into the vehicle, Gil noticed Alyss and Alice, sitting on the curb and watching the road intently. Smiling inwardly, he figured out that they must be waiting for Oz to drive by, ready to pounce and probably kidnap him.

In the meantime, back in the centre, Lotti had arrived to escort Levi and Oswald back to the apartment they shared in the centre of the city, which was about a half an hour drive from the Centre.

The second she'd walked in, Levi had hurried over to her, grabbing her by the waist and planting his lips onto hers. Instead of freaking out and running away like any normal person would, Lotti simply deepened the kiss, melting into the embrace as she acknowledged how much Levi must have missed this.

Across from them, Oswald stood mortified, hesitantly approaching the love-scene before muttering, "Seriously, Levi? We haven't even _left_ this place yet, and you're _already_ trying to get laid?"

Holding a finger up and implying for Oswald to shut up, Levi and Lotti continued as they were for another minute or so before finally pulling away.

Levi panted, "Woah… that felt _so_ good… I mean, you've got no idea how long it's been."

"Ohh, so I'm guessing you want a little more when we arrive home, eh?"

"Definitely."

"Are you serious?!" Oswald yelled judgementally, "Come on, I'm finally leaving rehab and going home, and the first thing which happens will be me having to listen to you guys fucking?"

Levi shrugged casually, "Yeh, pretty much."

"But… she's a drug dealer… surely you don't want to get too involved with her, right?"

"I don't deal anymore," Lotti interjected, "The Baskervilles offered me a higher position, so I took the opportunity. Also, they said they'd be happy to take you back."

Glancing at each other and reading each other's thoughts, Levi and Oswald stayed in silence for a bit, before Oswald decided to decline the offer.

"Are you sure?" Lotti asked them uneasily, pointing to Oswald and lowering her voice, "You've got a criminal record already, and none of you _actually_ completed your exams."

Understanding where Lotti was coming from, Levi replied, "We'll think about it."

"Good, now," Lotti smirked, pulling out her car keys and rattling them to the guys, "Let's get you the hell out of here."

As the trio walked out of the centre and clambered into Lotti's car, Oswald nodded to Levi, signalling for him to hand the envelopes to Lotti.

She took them, raising an eyebrow. "What're these?"

"Relapse information," Levi told her, "We're supposed to give them to someone we trust. And, frankly, the only people we know are either criminals, or some slut who I've had a one-night stand with and probably don't know the name of."

Laughing, Lotti read through them, "Alright, I get where you're coming from. But, surely if you're going to relapse, it'll probably end up being my fault anyway."

"Mhm. Fair point," Levi agreed, "Whatever, let's just get home so I can get some pussy."

Oswald scowled disgustedly at him. "Must you be so crude?"

"Yes," Levi stated bluntly, "And you know, it's certainly refreshing to know that this experience hasn't faulted my insatiable sexual appetite."

Meanwhile, in the centre, Break, Elliot and Leo were all still waiting alone, Elliot nervously holding Leo's hand as Break sat on the sofa, finding it difficult not to react to the two guys. It wasn't that he was homophobic (he couldn't be; he was gay himself), it was just that something strange seemed to linger in the room's atmosphere; something which Break just couldn't place his finger on.

Nevertheless, these thoughts were soon pulled from his mind as he heard the door click open, the brunette he'd been awaiting slowly and courteously entering the room.

Eyes widening, Break launched himself from the sofa, bursting with energy from god-knows-where as he wrapped his arms around Reim, forcing the other in a tight embrace the moment he'd stepped inside.

"W-woah… Xerx?" Reim stuttered, overwhelmed by the sudden display of affection, "What's this?"

Shaking his head at his friend's tragic reaction, Break pulled away, replying, "It's my way of saying thank you, dummy."

"Oh… right… why am I being thanked?" Reim asked sincerely.

Break cocked an eyebrow at him, "Huh? What do you mean 'why'? You did so much for me… I'm not even sure I'm capable of going through the entire list. I mean… coming here when I'd turned suicidal… pulling me back up when I'd hit rock bottom… even staying with me through all of it when you could've just left, and no one would've said anything against it."

"Oh… yeh… I guess I did do all of that…" Reim realised, "But… I did it because I wanted to, not because I _had_ to."

"Well, that's good to hear," Break laughed caustically, "I just need you to do one more thing for me."

"Of course," Reim said without a second of thought, "What is it?"

"Take these."

Shortly after, Reim was handed a few loose sheets. Flipping through them briefly, it didn't take him to realise what they were. "You… want me to make sure you don't relapse?"

Break nodded, smiling warmly to his friend as he confessed, "I don't trust myself… but I know you'll take on that burden."

"Since when was I your emotional dump?!"

"Since you offered yourself up for that role~" Break chimed, pulling Reim out of the doors and outside. Once he was free, Break took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air and feeling the freedom sink into him. "Now, Reim~ I'm hungry. And they very rarely gave us cake."

"Yeh? And?"

Break snickered to himself, strutting over to Reim and leaning on his shoulder. He knew he was being annoying, but he also knew that was his forte. Sneakily, he requested, "Can you buy me cake?"

Reim face palmed, reluctantly agreeing, "Alright. But only as a one off."

Thanking Reim sarcastically whilst embedding some snarky comment about his attitude, Break climbed into the car, sitting in the front seat. As they pulled out of the car park and sped up, the outside world soon became one giant blur, distorted by his deteriorating vision.

Seriously for once, Break said, "Reim?"

"Yes?"

"I'd like to make a promise to you."

"Sure," Reim agreed hesitantly, slightly put off by Break's strange sincerity, "What is it?"

As he gazed off into the distance, Break took a deep breath, promising, "Never again… will I ever go near that stuff… and I mean that…"

…

About half an hour after all the guests had left, the only two people left were Elliot and Leo, both still waiting to be collected. For both of them, the nerves had increased significantly, Leo unsure of what would happen, and Elliot clueless as to how his family would react to him and Leo's relationship.

However, just before they were about to get up and leave themselves, thinking that they'd been forgotten about, the door opened very slowly, and two people entered. One of them was a girl, with short black hair tied up in a bun. She looked annoyed about something, possibly at the person following directly behind her, with medium length blonde hair which had been clipped away from his face.

Without anyone even saying a single word, Leo knew who it was for several different reasons. Firstly, the two – although not identical – clearly shared some of Elliot's facial features; they just looked like relatives. Secondly, once they'd entered, Elliot's hand had gripped Leo's harder, his shoulder tensing up dramatically. Finally, the lingering tension in the room just suggested that the time for Elliot to come out had arrived.

"Oh crap…" Elliot whispered to Leo, "I knew Vanessa would come, but… I didn't expect Ernest!"

"Come on, Elliot," Vanessa ordered, gesturing to the door, "Your brother appears to be incompetent at driving, and now we're blocking another car."

The other person, Ernest, just sighed, "Don't mind her, Elly. She's just annoyed that we were late. But, we can go home now, right?"

"U-um… yeh, but," Elliot took a deep breath, feeling the pressure on his hand increase for a split second as Leo gave him an encouraging squeeze, "Can I talk to you about something first?"

Looking at each other unsurely, Vanessa and Ernest both took a seat opposite Elliot. They were both quick to notice the other boy, clinging to dear life to Elliot's hand. As they observed his scruffy appearance, the two siblings inwardly (or so they thought) screwed their faces up.

"Just say it," Ernest demanded, "I don't have all day."

"Okay… well, um… firstly, this is Leo, my roommate."

"I remember you mentioned him, but my dear Elly didn't bother telling me anything about him," Vanessa pouted.

"Yeh… well, we're… um… we're going out… and have been for a while now…"

Registering the blank expressions on their faces, Elliot inhaled deeply, realising that he'd be better off just coming out and saying it.

"I'm gay."

The blank expressions on Vanessa and Ernest's faces quickly shifted to ones of horror and disgust, looking the smaller boy up and down judgementally.

"And _that_ is the best you could get?" Vanessa spoke up, her tone harsh and cold as she rudely pointed at Leo, "Seriously, Elly, you're part of a rich family. You're supposed to grow up, have a family, have children, get a _wife_. It's tradition. And besides, you're a boy; you can't be with another boy, it just doesn't work like that. It's _wrong_."

Elliot felt the anger rise up inside of him at her words, turning to Leo and placing another hand supportively onto his wrist. Leo, on the other hand, was shaking like a leaf, only residing in the hope that Elliot would stick with him.

Ernest continued, "Come on, Elly. What's this about, hm? You've always loved girls. Why now?"

"Shut up…" Elliot growled through gritted teeth, "Just… shut up, and listen to me… do you see now why I didn't tell you? I knew this was how you'd react! You're all homophobic! All of you! It's stupid, because it's who I am, and you can't change that no matter what!"

"Ugh," Vanessa scoffed, standing up abruptly and pushing the chair to the floor, storming over to the door, "You're a disgrace. Honestly, this is ridiculous! You know what? You're not welcome back in our house. I don't _care_ if that seems unfair, but people like you are _under no circumstances_ allowed anywhere _near_ our home!"

And with that, she left, the slam of the door echoing throughout the room.

Fuming, Elliot tried to stand up and go after her, but was instead held back by Leo.

"Leo?" he asked, freezing up inside as he saw the tears streaming down his face, "Leo, what's up?"

"T-they… they hate me…" Leo whispered, his voice breaking, "I… I can't…"

Never once releasing the grip from Leo's hand, Elliot crouched on the floor in front of him, placing a hand on the side of his face and wiping away the tears with his fingers.

"Shh… it's okay now. I'm not going back there. They've effectively disowned m-"

"Hang on, Elly," Ernest cut him off, raising an eyebrow, "That's a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"Well that's what you've gone and done!" Elliot yelled, turning around angrily to his brother, who stood up from the chair defensively, "You can't stop me from being with who I want! You're always encouraging me to go out and find someone who's right for me, and now I've _finally_ found someone who I love, and you're disowning me for it! Just leave, alright?! Because I don't want you homophobic dickheads _anywhere_ near me!"

Breathing out in a deep sigh, Ernest placed a hand onto his brother's shoulder, "When you grow up, and out of this phase, then you can return to us…"

Shortly after, Ernest left, shaking his head as he threw the door shut behind him.

Leo flinched at the noise, curling up on the sofa as tears continued pouring from his eyes, strained sobs erupting from his throat.

"Leo… look at me, alright?" Elliot urged him, pulling the boy's face upwards and forcing their eyes to connect, "It's okay… I'm not going back to them. I love you, alright? That won't change, so can you stand up for me?"

Wearily, Leo uncurled, still gripping Elliot's hand as he stood up shakily with the blonde's support.

Elliot continued, "Please… don't cry… it's just us now… they don't matter. Its fine, I don't care about them. We've spent a year getting better, and we're happy now, yeh?"

Leo barely nodded, feeling as Elliot placed his hands onto the side of his face, holding him steady and looking him in the eye. Moving his fingers slightly, Elliot brushed them over Leo's face, drying his eyes.

"Leo?"

"Y-yeh?"

Elliot took a deep breath, hesitating before saying, "Look… I know we're only 17… I know it's early but… Leo… please…"

Leo's eyes widened, briefly sensing where the conversation was going, "What…?"

"Leo… will you marry me?"

Eyes filling with tears which glinted in the light, Leo gasped, frown curving into a smile as the tears turned from regret to happiness.

"Yes… Elliot… of course… I-I will…"


	25. Chapter 25: Happy Endings?

**_(A/Ns: The final chapter has come! Ahh, I actually got way too emotional writing this chapter. Its just so heartbreaking! Okay, so, theres a lot I need to say here, and some of its important, so please don't ignore it!  
\- A lot of the things in this are open to interpretation, ie Elliot's mother, what Vincent did etc  
\- If you think this is exaggerated/unrealistic, its actually based off my research, and the most likely thing to happen to the people in these situations  
\- I'm sorry... I know what happens really isn't what you expected...  
\- If Elliot and Leo's part seems unacurate, I apologise; I don't know much about them  
\- The italic parts are writers POV, normal writing is third person POV, and just bold is like letters/writing  
\- Most importantly, the song lyrics at the start are basically setting the mood for each segment. Also, I really struggled with Rufus' part, cause I couldn't really think of a good song for that, but the red theme works I think)_**

 ** _So... it's done! Please review! I would love to know what you all thought of this fanfic. Out of all the fanfics ive written, this is by far the best and most complimented. I always read these like 80k word fanfics and admired people for writing them, and I never imagined writing and finishing one myself. Thank you so much to all my readers, I love you guys so much and I would've never gotten this far without your compliments, so please let me know what you think of the last chapter! Was it what you expected?_**

 ** _Thank you to everyone for reading this far._**

 ** _Content warnings: drugs, eating disorders, tears, lots of tears, swearing, withdrawal, suicide (sorry...), death... (im also sorry!)_**

 ** _Disclaimer: (once more for the road, eh?) I do not own Pandora Hearts or any of the characters. If I did, Break, Elliot and Vincent would still be alive, and Elliot x Leo would be canon)_**

 **~Chapter Twenty-Five: Happy Endings?~**

 _And so, thus concludes everyone's time at Pandora Recovery Centre. Admittedly, it had to have been the hardest year of all those people's lives._

 _But._

 _In the end, all 12 patients had made a full recovery. It almost felt as if it were worth it. After a year of therapy, breakdowns, confessions, more breakdowns, and general struggles, they were free._

 _Maybe that wasn't the best option for some of them._

 _Anyway, enough with the foreshadowing; I'm sure you're all eager to know what happened to the patients once they'd left, right?_

 _Well then, let's have a look at where they were, 2 years after leaving…_

 _…_ _._

 ** _We press play, don't press pause_**

 ** _Progress, march on_**

 ** _With a veil over our eyes_**

 ** _We turn our back on the cause_**

 ** _Until the day that my uncles can be united by law_**

 ** _Their kids are walking around the hallway_**

 ** _Plagued by pain in their heart_**

 ** _A world so hateful, some would rather die than be who they are_**

 ** _~ Same Love ~_**

 _~ Elliot and Leo ~_

 _To no surprise, Leo stayed true to Elliot's proposal, and two had planned their wedding for when they finally turned 18, realising it was better to do it sooner than later. Additionally, because of Elliot's family disowning him, the two had rented a small apartment for the time being, fortunately being able to get decent jobs due to their exceptional exam results._

 _However, a few weeks before their wedding was planned, Leo began struggling again, the same thoughts and emotions flooding back and clouding his conscience. At first, Elliot was oblivious, but after a while, he began to notice Leo's strange eating habits arising. The final straw had to be when Elliot found Leo purging one night, breaking his almost 18 month clean streak._

 _Uncharacteristically, Elliot had actually gotten pretty mad at Leo, and another argument between the two soon erupted. Fortunately, it didn't last too long, Elliot eventually apologising and helping Leo back onto his feet again, both physically and mentally._

 _After that incident, Elliot chose to postpone the wedding until Leo was better. Leo, on the other hand, was once again sent to therapy against his will, ultimately landing himself back on Marinol. However, from that did come one positive thing, as Leo finally agreed to cut his hair and stop wearing the glasses, leaving his vibrant purple eyes permanently visible._

 _Providentially, Elliot and Leo were able to elope 2 years later, when they were 19._

A small, white room was situated at the back of the hotel hall where very few people were seated, awaiting the beginning of the service. In the back room, a deafening, tense silence filled the room, the only two people in there being Elliot and Leo, Elliot pacing restlessly as Leo leant against the wall. Neither of them knew who would be attending. They guessed it wasn't many, though, considering they hadn't actually invited too many people.

"Elliot," Leo whispered, careful as to not disturb the service, "Calm down."

"S-sorry…" Elliot stuttered, walking over to the adjacent wall and leaning against it next to Leo, "I'm just nervous, that's all…"

"So am I," Leo confided simply.

"You don't seem like it."

Leo glanced up at the blonde and pointed out, "Well, what's the worst that can happen?"

"Yeh…" Elliot smiled, "I guess… you're right."

After another minute or so of anxious anticipation, the wedding officiant opened the door, signalling for the couple to enter the hall. Elliot gulped, facing reassuringly down at Leo before taking his hand in his, the two each taking the bouquet of vibrant flowers handed to them before taking a small, hesitant step into the room. The sound of the song 'River Flows in You' echoed through the room, creating a smooth, relaxing atmosphere.

As the officiant began to lead to two down the aisle (considering neither had parents available to do so), Elliot almost froze in his tracks, immediately sensing that Leo had noticed too; hence their grip on each other's hands tightened.

In the front row – three crystal white chairs on the left side of the seated area – sat 3 very recognisable people.

It was Claude, Ernest and Vanessa; Elliot's older siblings.

Trying to conceal his surprise and panic, Elliot screwed his eyes shut, securing his hold on Leo's hand. Just as he did so, he felt a brief squeeze, and looked down to see Leo, gazing up at him. He nodded, ever so slightly, almost as if to tell Elliot that everything was fine.

Accepting Leo's comfort, Elliot proceeded to the top of the raised flooring, standing opposite Leo as the flowers were removed from them and placed into a vase. As they took each other's hands, a small boy with messy black hair – probably only 15 or so – approached them happily, holding up the pillow with the two rings on it.

Leo smiled, for this boy was none other than his childhood friend, Phillipe.

"Thank you," Leo mouthed to the boy, at which he smiled in response before holding up the velvet pillow closer to the couple.

The first to pick up the ring was Elliot; his hand trembling as he held the ring between his thumb and forefinger, the metal glinting in the sunlight which poured in through the window. Holding out his also shaking hand, Leo accepted the ring, watching as the circular object was slid onto the ring finger as the officiant continued speaking.

Shortly after, Leo picked up the remaining ring, taking Elliot's hand in his and slipping the ring onto the same finger.

Once the officiant had finished speaking, Elliot and Leo were requested to commemorate their marriage in the traditional way. With a smile stretching from ear to ear, Elliot leaned down, not hesitating in the slightest as he placed his lips onto Leo's, the other deepening the kiss and pulling the blonde into a tighter embrace. Remembering that they were in front of friends and family, Elliot and Leo pulled away, bowing individually before stepping down onto the floor of the hall as the crowd was disbanded and sent to the reception.

However, just before the two could make their lucky escape, Elliot was engulfed into a tight, yet awkward hug by someone who was quite clearly _not_ his new husband. He turned, freezing up when he realised it was Vanessa.

"Y-you… you came…" Elliot stammered, "I- I thought… you wouldn't come…"

Eyes glazed with tears, Vanessa pulled him closer to her by the shoulders, pressing their foreheads together. She whispered softly, "Elly… I know… I'm so sorry. I am… we spoke about it…"

"Y-yeh?" Elliot murmered, feeling as tears began to brim in his own eyes.

"It's who you are…" she cried, quiet sobs breaking her speech as she held her brother closer, "We'll always love you… no matter what you are…! Father… is away at the moment, but even he wanted to come… I'm sorry, Elly… If mother could see you now… she'd be so proud…"

"T-thank you…" Elliot managed to choke out, pulling his sister closer and burying his head into her shoulder.

Meanwhile, across from them, Leo simply stood, tears rolling down his face as he watched the scene before him. But, after a little while, he was dragged out from his own thoughts, Ernest approaching him casually with a grin and slapping a hand lightly onto his shoulder.

"Congratulations," Ernest spoke quietly, but something about his tone was strangely calming.

"Yeh…" Leo mumbled, unaware of the tears which continued trailing down his face out of pure happiness.

"So," Ernest chuckled, wrapping an arm around Leo's shoulder and pulling him nearer, "I'd say it's about time I got to know my new brother-in-law."

….

 ** _Red for the cancer_**

 ** _Red for the wealthy_**

 ** _Hail Mary, forgive me_**

 ** _Blood for blood, hearts beating_**

 ** _~ King For A Day ~_**

 _~ Rufus ~_

 _Shortly after leaving the recovery centre, Rufus had returned to university at the age of 22, secretly taking money from his family (who still insisted on ignoring him) and using it to pay for the continuation of his law degree._

 _Because of the fact he'd successfully completed the first year of his degree at the age of 18 before leaving for the party life, Rufus managed to finish the degree at the age of 23. Admittedly, he did have quite an infamous name at the university, and a lot of his tutors unfortunately remembered him. And, telling someone that you left in order to fulfil an addiction long term certainly doesn't create a very positive reputation._

 _Nevertheless, with the help of Sheryl locking him in a room when she thought he'd relapse, Rufus had successfully managed to go 3 years clean._

 _Unfortunately, not all of his ongoing life had been too promising. Firstly, the family head had decided to cut him off, only sending him barely enough money to live._

 _Additionally, Sheryl continued rejecting his consistent and desperate proposals, leaving him alone and causing him to refuse anyone else's pathetic attempts at asking him out. Because, truthfully, Rufus was rather popular with the ladies at his university, despite the negative rumours constantly circulating his name._

 _But, after graduating, he did managed to acquire a job working as a lawyer for a successful company, which gave him the ideal status and income to remain happy enough… and to feed his ego._

 _…_

 ** _I'm coming home_**

 ** _I'm coming home_**

 ** _Tell the world, I'm coming home_**

 ** _Let the rain wash away_**

 ** _All the pain of yesterday_**

 ** _I know my kingdom awaits_**

 ** _And they've forgiven my mistakes_**

 ** _I'm coming home_**

 ** _~ Coming Home ~_**

 _~ Oz, Alice and Alyss ~_

 _As he had promised, Oz introduced Alice to his family a few days after leaving. In all honesty, Oz had received a few disproving looks from his uncle, and it had indeed taken a while for Ada and Alice to be in the same room without Alice being overcome with the urge to attack Ada out of pure jealously._

 _But, nevertheless, in the end, his family accepted his decision, allowing him to rent a small apartment with the financial assistance of Oscar (who just couldn't say no). Eventually, both had gathered up enough money from various low-paid jobs to fund their dream of travelling, which, once again, relied on the financial support of Oscar._

 _And so, for 2 years, Alice and Oz travelled across the globe together, constantly getting them into danger which was usually caused by Alice herself._

 _As for Alyss, she'd refuse to stay with Oz, and had left all of a sudden only 2 days after they had been freed from the recovery centre._

 _A year later, when Oz and Alice had just returned from Germany, they came home to discover a letter._

 **Dear Oz and Alice,**

 **I want you to know that I'm still alive, and that I'm okay.**

 **I'd rather not reveal my location for you, and the only reason I'm doing this is so that you don't worry about me.**

 **I'm living with Cheshire, a very friendly guy I met where I'd travelled to. Neither of us are working, but I'm happy.**

 **As much as I'd like to see my sister again, I don't want to make any promises which I won't be able to keep.**

 **Love from, Alyss**

 **P.S. Don't ask how I got your address**

 _Both Oz and Alice had been rather confused at the letter in the beginning, but soon dropped any suspicions once they realised that there would be no need to worry; especially if she insisted she was happy._

 _As for Gil, Oz and Alice didn't forget about him. In fact, their home was quite close to Gil's, and so, despite the endlessly arising bickering between Alice and Gil, the two still visited him in his apartment each time they returned from one of their trips._

"Gil!" Oz called, running down the street excitedly towards the apartment block where Gil lived. As for Gil, he'd never actually left Vincent's apartment, only paying for the cost of the rent and other neccesities with a part-time job.

"Oh, hey Oz," Gilbert greeted, smiling down at the blonde and ruffling his hair playfully as he dropped the butt of the cigarette he'd just finished, "Good timing. I was just about to go back up to the room."

"Yeh, and hurry up, seaweed head!" Alice demanded, "I'm hungry! And I want to eat your delicious meat!"

"Ah, shut up, stupid rabbit," Gil muttered, opening the door for Oz and bringing them up to his apartment.

Apart from the lingering scent of smoke having been filtered from the room long ago from the fact that Gil no longer smoked inside, not a single thing about it had changed since Vincent had lived there, who had yet to return

Walking over to the kitchen, Gilbert turned off the oven, pulling out a tray of food and stirring a saucepan of gravy with a wooden spoon in the other hand.

"Ahh, that smells sooo good!" Oz complimented, breathing deeply with his nose and inhaling the scent of the cooking.

"Ha, good to know," Gil laughed a little, "So how was your trip? You didn't even tell me where you were going."

"Ah, we went to Iceland!" Oz beamed, a warm feeling spreading through him and radiating to the rest of the room as he recalled the memories of the holiday, "It was sooo nice! The mountains and the waterfalls were beautiful, and we even got to see the Northern Lights!"

"And the meat was really tasty!" Alice continued, mouth drooling at the thought, "But it was really expensive, so Oz was boring and kept telling me off!"

"Yeh, cause we're not made of money!" Oz whined, slumping down at the dining table and dropping his head onto the placemat, "So Gil?"

"Hm?" Gil looked up, placing down a plate of food in front of both Alice and Oz and then himself, before sitting down at the table with the other two.

Hesitantly, Oz asked, "Have… you heard from Vincent yet?"

At the mention of his little brother, Gil's lips twitched into an involuntary smile. "Yes… I have actually."

"Wha?" Oz beamed, "What did he say?"

"He's coming home…" Gilbert told him, tightly clutching the letter hidden in his pocket, his fingers wrapped around the neat cursive which wrote 'Vincent Nightray', "… three days… he comes home."

"That's great… I'm glad you'll get to see him after 2 years…"

"Yeh…" Gilbert agreed, his grip never once leaving the paper, "He never told me… why he left, so… I don't even know where he'd gone…"

Oz glanced around the room, his vision panning from the curtains still left ripped and shredded to Alice opposite him, greedily devouring the food and already demanding seconds. A nostalgic sensation filled him as he spoke softly. "I'm sure… wherever he is… wherever he went… he's happy…"

….

 ** _Sick of pretending to be so happy_**

 ** _All the while my anxiety's away at me_**

 ** _My skin crawling, I look up to the sky_**

 ** _And it falls, the walls close in and it's_**

 ** _As if all the good in my life disappears_**

 ** _~ Lullaby ~_**

 _~ Jack ~_

 _Unlike some of the other residents, Jack failed to stick to his promise of keeping in touch, immediately isolating himself after being given freedom. He moved back into his apartment, continued to live off his mother and girlfriend's will, and was continuously haunted by their memories._

 _Really, after someone underwent that much trauma, there isn't much which can be done to make them forget; especially not without a distraction._

 _The distraction of someone else. The person who'd previously served as a distraction was Oz._

 _That distraction proved to be temporary._

 _One year after the symptoms returned, Jack made an attempt on Oswald's life. An attempt to kill the person who caused his ever-lasting pain. Whether he was just seeking the satisfaction of revenge, or a completely different result, even Jack didn't know himself._

 _In actuality, the only thing he'd got out of it was the feeling of failure. Oswald was much stronger than him, and to no surprise, it had failed._

 _And so, unable to deal with the guilt and pure emptiness of his life, 2 years later, Jack hung himself, a short suicide note the only fragment left of his existence:_

 **Dear whoever finds this first,**

 **I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ending my own life so abruptly.**

 **I've become nothing. I don't even know who I am anymore.**

 **I'm sorry Oswald. I hate you. But I didn't want to do this. I don't want to hurt you.**

 **I'm sorry Miranda. I'm sorry for lying to you, and telling you I was okay.**

 **I'm sorry Lacey. If you were still here, you'd want me to be stronger. I couldn't.**

 **Finally, I'm sorry Oz. I'm sorry for leaving you, and for always apologising for things which weren't my fault. But this was my fault. I'm sorry.**

 **~ Jack.**

….

 ** _You hit the drinking, take a toll_**

 ** _Watch the past go up in smoke_**

 ** _Fake a smile, lie and say_**

 ** _"_** ** _I'm better now than ever"_**

 ** _And your life's okay_**

 ** _Well it's not, no_**

 ** _You're doing all these things out of desperation_**

 ** _~ Six Degrees Of Separation ~_**

 _~ Levi and Oswald ~_

 _In contradiction to what they'd originally said, Levi and Oswald both took up Lotti's offer to re-join the Baskervilles. They also moved back into the same apartment, resuming their previous lives as if nothing had happened._

 _The two had managed to go just under one year clean, unfortunately. The first to break had been Levi. In all fairness, he had successfully stayed away from smoking crack, but instead took up smoking cigarettes as a substitution for his previous addiction._

 _Then, only a few days later, Oswald broke his 364 day sober-streak, unable to stay away from alcohol for any longer._

 _After nearly another year of living like that, Oswald decided to seek help again, his liver condition worsening and leaving him with no other option than to fall to Aversion Therapy. And, consequently, ended up on Antabuse after seeking help from various counsellors, 2 years after already leaving a rehab._

 _Levi, out of consideration for his friend (although he'd never admit it), took the opportunity to try and kick his own habit._

'Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap'

The irritating sound of continuous tapping overlapped the silence in the room, Oswald lying stretched out on the sofa opposite the desk at which Levi was currently sitting.

"Levi," Oswald grunted, "Stop it."

The tapping only continued.

"Levi…" he warned, attempting to sit up but soon discovering that he did not possess the energy to do so, "Please."

"Hm?" Levi eventually responded, glancing up from the desk and finally lifting the pen, "Oh… sorry. How are you feeling?"

Oswald glared weakly at him. "Like crap."

"Great."

Only a few seconds after their short-lived conversation ended, the repetitive tapping of Levi's pen started once again.

'Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap'

"Levi!" Oswald yelled, "Stop it. If you're that desperate for a cigarette, then have one!"

"No. That's not why I'm fidgety anyway," Levi denied, "I could say the same to you. Just drink something so that you can be a bit less of a grumpy shitface."

"I already tried…" Oswald groaned sheepishly after a small pause, "Couldn't do it without throwing up…"

"Ah… so that's what it was in the sink," Levi muttered under his breath, slamming the pen back onto the desk and resting his head onto his hand, "Shit… I cannot write this report right now…"

"Just give yourself an exception. Most people don't just quit cold turkey."

Levi retorted simply by picking up the half-empty pack of cigarettes abandoned on his desk, staring at them for a bit before launching them at Oswald. The pack ended up hitting him square in the face.

Oswald flinched, but didn't really show any sign of pain as he let the sealed box fall to the floor.

"Argh. Not again…" Levi complained, lowering a twitching hand to his lower stomach and hunching over the desk, "I don't see why I manage to stop crack cold turkey after 4 years, but I'm struggling to quit this after only 1 year."

"Well, most people who effectively chain-smoked for over a year don't try to quit in a room clouded with second-hand smoke."

"… shut up."

Sighing at Levi's ill-tempered attitude, Oswald eventually managed to sit up, leaning against the back of the sofa and glancing over at his friend. He was currently sitting with his head slumped on the desk, back curled over, legs crossed and one hand placed lightly on his stomach. It was painfully obvious how much discomfort he was in, and Oswald didn't quite know who was worse off out of the two of them.

"When did you last smoke?" Oswald asked plainly, not particularly interested but still attempting to keep his friend at ease as much as possible.

Levi's voice was muffled by the paper his face was pressed against. "Urhhm… a couple of days ago?"

"Well… when did things get worse?"

"Hmph… I dunno… I think it got worse yesterday after noon. I didn't sleep properly last night, and I've basically had the shits all morning…"

"Oh, lovely…" Oswald murmered sarcastically, "I don't really get why you started in the first place."

"Well, I wasn't gonna go back to crack, was I?" Levi pointed out. Obviously, the comment had been aimed at mocking Oswald, but the other hadn't quite got the hint. "I guess… I just always end up addicted to something… and I'm 32 now, for fucks sake…"

"How do you think I feel? I'm 31 and only a few drinks away from having to get a liver transplant."

Finally, Levi sat up, removing his head from the desk and glancing down at his hands, frowning at the strange twitching feeling which filled him crossed with the throbbing pain in his forehead. "Argh…" he grunted quietly, digging the palms of his hands into his eye sockets, "I'd kill for a smoke right now…"

Exhaling, Oswald bent over the edge of the sofa, reaching down strenuously and picking up the pack of cigarettes which had previously been thrown at him. He opened them, counted them individually, before flinging them back at Levi and lying back down against the cushions.

Half-surrendering to his cravings, Levi ripped the pack open, pulling out one of the slender white sticks and jabbing it between his teeth. The familiar, satisfying taste filled his mouth, and he dug around the desk frantically in search of a lighter.

"Dammit…" he groaned through gritted teeth, pulling the cigarette from his mouth and gripping it between two fingers as if it were the last lifeline, "Where the hell did all my lighters go?"

"You told me to get rid of them," Oswald spoke up from the sofa, his eyes slowly drooping shut, "So I did."

"Ugh… why the hell did I do that?!"

"I don't know."

Just before Levi could retort with one of his usual, caustic remarks, he froze, cursing "Shit," under his breath. Slamming the cigarette onto the desk, he made a run for the bathroom, and Oswald made sure to block out all sounds once the door was thrown shut.

After another 5 minutes, Levi staggered out of the bathroom, closing the door securely before returning to the desk and picking up the cigarette again, balancing it between two fingers and leaning back in the chair.

"How was it?" Oswald muttered, disgust riddled through the question.

"Awful. Don't go in there."

Oswald grimaced. "Thanks for that. Now I need a drink… so bad."

"And I need a smoke… or to get laid. I'm sure that would satisfy my libido enough to calm me down," Levi grinned a little to himself, but then frowned at the next realisation, "God… we truly are a mess…"

"Seconded…" the other agreed.

Levi sighed, dropping the unlit cigarette into the now empty ash tray. "It's alright. I'm sure we'll get there eventually…"

…..

 ** _Where are you now? Are you lost?_**

 ** _Will I find you again?_**

 ** _Are you alone? Are you afraid?_**

 ** _Are you searching for me?_**

 ** _Where did you go? I had to stay_**

 ** _Now I'm reaching for you_**

 ** _Will you wait?_**

 ** _Will I see you again?_**

 ** _~ Hymn For The Missing ~_**

 _~ Gilbert and Vincent ~_

 _Like Oz, Gilbert had stuck to his promise of keeping in touch with the other, offering to host dinner for them each time they returned from one of their trips. Also, similar to Oz once again, Gil still kept in touch with Oscar, and took no hesitation accepting the offered financial support. His part-time job at a café was decent and all, but it wasn't enough to pay for the apartment which had previously assisted his little brother's extravagant lifestyle._

 _As for Vincent, the blonde had also kept his promise to himself, leaving the country and going elsewhere. Echo had been allowed to leave, at which she gladly took up the opportunity to get away from Vincent within a split second._

 _Unfortunately, that left Gilbert living alone._

 _But, he didn't get depressed, because the everlasting company of Oz continued. Admittedly, he did never quit smoking, but instead just cut down, and only smoked outside as a result of pure hope that one day, Vince would return._

 _Luckily, 2 years later, he'd received a letter._

 **Dear Gil.**

 **I'm retuning to you. You don't have to search for me anymore. You don't have to wait.**

 **One week from now, and I'll be back for you.**

 **I promise.**

 **Vince.**

 _The letter had been brief, but enough to bring a smile to Gil's face and a singular tear to one of his golden eyes._

 _Still though, the letter had enclosed no details of when or where he'd return, and so Gilbert was just left to wait, and resume his daily life with a lingering sense of anticipation residing within him for the next week._

Gilbert sat contently in a field, perched on a wooden bench with a cigarette dangling from his fingers. It had been exactly 6 days since Vincent had sent the letter claiming that he'd be home, which only left Gilbert with one day left.

In some ways, he wanted to be annoyed at him for leaving so abruptly; for not telling him where he'd be going and just taking off in such a mysterious way. But, after everything they'd been through, Gil couldn't bring himself to hate his little brother.

Just as he was snapped out of his thoughts, the sound of slow yet steady footsteps gradually filled Gilbert's hearing range. Snuffing the butt of the cigarette out on the floor, he froze up, instantly recognising who it was.

"Vince…" he mouthed silently, launching himself from the bench and facing the path in front of him.

Sure enough, the same brother who'd taken off 2 years ago stood right before him. Other than the fact that his blonde hair had been trimmed to sit just above his shoulders, not a single thing about him had changed. His single golden eye shone in the sunlight in contrast to the deep red one, emphasising the passion and warmth radiating from the subtle smile painted on his lips as he stared straight ahead.

As for Gilbert, he'd simply frozen up in shock, before finally cracking and rushing forward, clinging onto his brother's frail body for dear life. Tears were freely flowing from his eyes, buried deep into the crook of Vincent's neck.

"Welcome home, Vince…" Gil whispered in his ear, feeling the arms of his brother wrap around his shoulder and push him away, before forcing eye contact between them, "W-where have you been…?"

"Gil… I'm sorry…" Vincent panted, smiling weekly as he held tightly onto Gilbert's arms, dragging him down to the ground, "I hope… you're happy now."

"I… I'm happy, but… I'd have been happier with you…" Gil admitted, arms still wrapped tightly around his brother as they sat on the ground together, closer than they'd ever been before. "W-what… why did you-"

"Shh… Gil…" Vincent breathed strenuously, lifting a finger up and placing it onto his brother's lips, "I don't have time… to answer your questions now…"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Gil… I wanted to give you a life without me…" the blonde confessed, collapsing onto Gil's chest, "But… I've done some stupid things now… to myself… to other people…"

Gilbert's eyes widened, feeling Vincent's body grow weaker by the second. "No… please…"

"My time… is up, Gil…" he told him softly, "My body… has grown too weak… I was stupid, I threw my life away… and I'm sorry, Gil… but…"

"But what?"

Vincent tried to speak, his mouth opening and closing before he smiled, gazing up and Gil with dazed eyes and shaking his head as he laid his head onto the other's chest.

Eventually, he continued, "But… now you finally… get to have a future without me…"

"Vince… that's not what I want!" Gilbert yelled as he grabbed onto his brother's shoulders and forced him upwards.

"Shhh… Gil…" Vincent shushed, eyelids drooping and finally closing. It was at that moment that Gilbert lost the ability to hold him up any longer, letting the blonde fall back onto his chest, and bury his head onto the crook of his elbow with what little energy he had left. "It's too late to save me now…"

Realising that Vincent was right, Gil could only cry, holding onto his brother as he spoke his last words.

"-…"

Just then, Gilbert felt the pulse in his body seize, his face growing pale and his body resting limply.

It was only at that point that the current situation sunk into his conscience; his little brother lying lifeless in his arms as the last words he'd spoken echoed through his mind.

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Nii-san…"_

…

 ** _Bring me out_**

 ** _Come and find me in the dark now_**

 ** _Every day by myself I'm breaking down_**

 ** _I don't wanna fight alone anymore_**

 ** _Bring me out_**

 ** _From the prison of my own pride_**

 ** _My God, I need a hope I can't deny_**

 ** _In the end I'm realizing I was never meant to fight on my own_**

 ** _~ On My Own ~_**

 _~ Break ~_

 _Immediately after leaving the centre, Break had returned to the apartment opposite Reim's, receiving methodical assistance from Reim each day. The two's lives had returned to normal, and they'd both continued on as if nothing which had previously occurred ever happened. They stayed friends, still not a single thing able to tear them apart._

 _Of course, Break's eyesight had never recovered, and the council eventually agreed to give him small yet adequate disabled benefit claims. Reim watched over this, to no surprise, and monitored Break almost 24/7 for the first couple of months._

 _It almost seemed as if nothing would go wrong._

 _But._

 _Giving the fact that Break had spent 8 entire years of his life heavily reliant on heroin, there was almost no chance of him resisting the immense temptation and staying away._

 _And so, only 6 months later, Break relapsed, voluntarily getting addicted to heroin once again._

 _However, unlike the previous time, Reim stayed completely in the dark about it, unable to spot any signs that Break had started using again._

 _Unfortunately, due to the extreme nature of the second heroin addiction, Break accidently overdosed just over 2 years after leaving Pandora Recovery Centre._

 _But this time, Reim was too late to find him._

 _Consequently, Break passed away at the age of 28._

The sun was beginning to set over the graveyard, a darkening sky of warm colours merging from yellow to red to a deep blue. An eerie silence hung over the area behind the church, the autumn leaves brushing rhythmically against the trimmed grass as the wind blew past subtly.

The only person who could be seen was a tall young man, completely dressed in black with clouded glasses on his face. A single handkerchief was held in his left hand, the right hand firmly placed on the side of the concrete grave which he was crouched in front of.

This person – Reim – was muttering quietly to the grave, fresh soil covering the ground beneath it, having only been laid a few hours ago. The grave was rather plain, only 3 things carved into the stone:

 **Xerxes Break**

 **Aged 28**

 **R.I.P.**

"In hindsight…" Reim thought aloud, a single tear escaping his eye and rolling down his cheek as he held the fabric in his hand up to it, "I should've noticed… that you'd gone back… I should've told you not to make promises… which you wouldn't keep…

"I'll never forget what it was like… walking into your apartment to visit you, but instead finding you like that… sprawled across the bed, an empty needle resting beside your arm. Why hadn't I realise until that point?

"When did you relapse? When… did it all happen? I had to know… you couldn't respond to me very well… I knew it was too late…"

As Reim recalled the memories of his friend's death, more emotions welled up inside of him, more tears falling from his eyes.

"You were barely alive… at that point… your pupils were dilated… you were calling for me… whimpering, almost…

"I walked over to you, you clung to me… and cried your eyes out… _'I don't want to die…'_ was what you kept saying… your body was trembling… I knew that was it… You muttered _'18 months… I'm sor…'_ before your breathing just… stopped…

"I'm sorry…" Reim apologised, "I could've saved you…"

Silence befell the grave and Reim for another half an hour or so, the brunette pouring out his memories out to Break's dead body. Several flower bouquets decorated the stone, but it was nothing different to the rest surrounding it.

"The thought of you… 6 feet under… with all these other people…" Reim whispered, "It's… it's just…"

Just at that moment, Reim was snapped out of his trance by another person approaching him. At first, he thought he would stop at one of the graves around them, but only dropped that suspicion when the person walked right up the where he was.

"Hi…" the other man said quietly, a single, red flower being held in one of his hands.

Reim simply nodded, courteously apologising for his demeanour, "Sorry, I don't usually present myself in such a manner… I-I'm just… grieving a friend, that's all…"

"No, it's okay," the other smiled warmly, bending down to the grave next to Break's and dropping the flower in front of it, "I'm Gilbert, by the way…"

"Nice to meet you," Reim greeted, "My name is… Reim…"

"Hey, Reim…" Gilbert muttered, gesturing to the grave below him, "I recognise that name… Xerxes Break… he was the heroin addict, in the recovery centre I left 2 years ago…"

Tears welling up in his eyes again, Reim nodded. "He… he relapsed… and overdosed. The funeral finished a few hours ago…"

"I… I'm so sorry for your loss…" Gilbert whispered, "My brother, Vince… he was also there… he passed away a few weeks ago."

"Sorry to hear that …"

"Yeh… it's not right…" Gil murmered, staring ahead at the vast graveyard, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

Reim considered the question for a moment, glancing down at Break's grave before replying, "I guess… after all, not everyone's story… can be blessed with a happy ending…"


End file.
